Andrew Del Bates, 51, was born on April 7th, 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He passed in his sleep on December 17, 2022. Words strung together can’t adequately express how much this mountain of a man will be missed. He is survived by the love of his life, Jen Lyman; his beautiful daughters, Makayla Golden (Taylor) and Harlie Bates (Isaac); the grandchildren whom he was so proud to be Pappy to, Quentin (Q), Paxtin (P), and his grandchild-to-be; his beloved mother Susan Jeffs (Tony) who he felt so grateful to become even closer to in the past few years; his brothers Matt Bates and Levi Bates (Joanie); his sister Brooke Fieger (Brian); his Ma Griswold Jeri Brady, his ride-or-die brother Jason Mardell (Sarah), and the many nieces and nephews who affectionately called him Uncle Drew. He is preceded in death by the Papa of all Papas Master Bates, Leland Maycroft Bates, who Drew studied under as a young Padawan Learner to later become the constant and amazing Jedi of a father that he was.

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“He was an asshole, but he was a funny asshole.”

When we say that he was a mountain of a man, we mean that in every conceivable way—as a partner, as a father and grandfather, as a son, as a brother, as a friend, not to mention in his stature, his heart, and even his sarcasm, (which was truly colossal.) And we’re here to tell you that you have no idea what a hug really is unless you were the receiver of one of his huge bear hugs. In addition to all the people he loved, Drew loved the outdoors, especially Fairview Canyon, and whether he was fishing, hunting, or camping, he was at home in the outdoors, and made a mean dutch oven with many of his recipes passed down from Papa. His campsites were as organized as his toolboxes, and with said tools, he was the resident mechanic for all the broken-down vehicles, the electrician for any light that needed to be hung, and the plumber for, well, you know… Essentially, he was a jack-of-all-trades and a Master in his own right.