Jon Irwin Anderson

Jon Irwin Anderson was born March 30, 1934 to parents Melvin and Ruth Anderson in Madison, Wisconsin. He was the second born in a family of five boys. He grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho. When he was in grade school, a schoolteacher named Mrs. Opperly recognized his artistic ability at an art fair in a park where he was sculpting with some clay provided. She mentored him through Jr High and High School. Under her tutelage, he applied for and received scholarship to ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. Right after high school, he left for ArtCenter and graduated four years later in Advertising Design. He then chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called to the Northwest Pacific States Mission where he served for two years. 

Once home, he prepared himself to accept a draft into the U.S. Army and was stationed in Hawaii. There he met Judy who six years later would become his wife. After the army, he went back to ArtCenter for a semester to refresh his portfolio. He was hired by an advertising firm in Salt Lake City, Utah and also freelanced doing signs and billboards using his skills as an expert hand lettering artist. 

It wasn't long before he was noticed by the art department head at USU, and he was recruited to start a commercial art program for USU. He was a dynamic professor that took the students along with Glen Edwards to Los Angeles and San Francisco every year to tour advertising and design studios and illustrators’ homes. Later, he and two of his best friends in the art world, Don Weller and Mikio Osaka, started The Design Conference that Just Happens to be in Park City (TDCTJHTBIPC). 

Professionals in the commercial art world were invited to be guest speakers as students and professionals came to learn and ski together for a week. This nonprofit conference was run by them for 25 years. Students were always at the forefront of his mind, and the commercial art dept at USU became one of the top universities in the country. Many students found contacts in the program for their careers right out of college because of the skills they learned in the USU commercial art dept. 

After he retired, he found joy in having time to paint. He had a very creative mind and always had great ideas; he painted many designerly illustrations of nursery rhymes, opera posters, and fun class assignments as demos. He moved on to western painting and later landscapes and paintings of places he traveled. During all these busy times he loved spending time with his wife and family. He skied, played tennis, hiked, and toured Europe and Singapore with them. He was known for his A type, speedy personality and hated to be late to anything. We loved him and life will be slower without him. He is surely welcomed home to those who love him and hurrying on to create something new!