Anton Jesse Rasmussen died Friday, February 6, 2015 from infection and other complications of cancer treatment.
Tony was born on November 12, 1942 in Salt Lake City to Lawrence Lester and LaPrele Steele Rasmussen. He attended Highland High School and was always pleased to say that he played football on the team that took the State Championship his senior year. He went on to receive his BFA in Art from the University of Utah and then served in the United States Coast Guard during the Vietnam conflict. Later, Tony received his MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Utah. He was the founding Director of the Bountiful/Davis Art Center and took great joy in having been part of a program that lives on to this day. Tony also taught drawing and painting at the University of Utah, Utah State University, and served as chair in the Department of Art at Southern Utah University.
Tony was a gifted artist who was able to see and capture the power and majesty of nature. His paintings uplift and inspire all those who see them. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy of the beauty of the Lord\s creations in his artwork. Painting was a great joy for him. Clouds and sunsets and the desert rock of Southern Utah were his inspirations and he has passed this love of them on to his family. We never fail to take a photo of a beautiful sunset or a bank of clouds in our daily travels.
Tony was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was grateful for his callings and the many blessings that he received. He had a strong testimony of the atonement.
His greatest joy however, was his family. He loved and cherished his children and was proud of their accomplishments. He loved to tell his friends what his sons and daughter had accomplished in their lives. Tony and Pam had a strong and abiding love for each other and they were a true team in all that they did. Tony was one of a kind, a creative, loving and spiritual soul with a wicked sense of humor. We love him with all our hearts and he will be deeply, deeply missed.
Tony is proceded in death by his parents and his brother Christian and is survived by his wife Pamela, his sons, Michael and Shawn, his daughter Ariel, his sister Joy, brother Rande, his mother-in-law Irene Lilischkis, his nieces, nephews, cousins and his wife\s extended family who took him into their hearts and families.
Funeral services will be held at the Colonial Hills Ward (1455 South 1700 East), on Saturday, February 14, at 11:00 a.m., The family will meet with friends on Friday, February 13, 2015 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn (2350 East 1300 South) and on Saturday one hour prior to service at the church.
The family would like to thank Health SouthRehabilitation Hospital and Promises Hospital for their kind and compassionate care over the last two weeks.
Donations to a cancer research organization would be appreciated.
