Obituary of Jon Kenneth Takseraas

Jon Kenneth Takseraas, a long time resident of Darien, passed away on Thursday, June 2, 2011 in Stamford. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, on October 22, 1938, of a Norwegian father, Gunnar, and a Swedish mother, Dagny, nee Olsen. A descendent of many European noble families dating back well over 2, 000 years, Mr. Takseraas was raised in Laurelton, Queens, and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, one of the premier schools in the New York City school system. Mr. Takseraas graduated with honors in Industrial Design, and then attended Pratt Institute. In 1962, he and Arie Ilton started Form & Function Inc., a model making business in New York City. In 1995, Form & Function moved to Darien, CT, and it continued there until his retirement. During his career, Mr. Takseraas developed thousands of consumer product containers, whimsical TV props, and was involved in several World's Fair exhibitions, and was awarded several design patents. Outside of his professional life, Mr. Takseraas was interested in the Arts: writing, theatre, amateur film production, photography, and computer graphics. Additionally, he was a great cook, driven by his love of food. He loved to travel. He was also a fair plumber, carpenter, roofer, and electrician all by necessity. He was an especially devoted and doting father and gandfather. He was interested in almost everything; a state which he attributed to the dubious advantage of a sickly asthmatic childhood spent reading every set of reference book in his school library, while other children were in gym classes. He is survived by is son, Tjostel (TJ) Christian Hartmann Takseraas; his devoted daughter-in-law Anne (Nanou) Takseraas; his beloved grandson Thomas Jon Patrick Takseraas; his brothers Alan William Takseraas of Lynchburg, VA and Erik Takseraas of Kings Park, NY; as well as nieces and nephews. His parents, his beloved wife, Mary Ann Hartmann Takseraas, and his son Peder Christian Hartmann Takseraas preceded him in death. By his wish, there will be no visitation or religious service. A private burial will be held at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien. Memorial donations may be sent to the Richard L. Rosenthal Hospice Residence, 100 Shelburne Road, Stamford, CT 06902. www.lawrencefuneralhome.com Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820