John Henry Lassen

John Henry Lassen of Brighton, formerly of Cañon City, passed away December 22, 2011 at Life Care Center of Longmont. He was 87 years old.John was born January 10, 1924 in Stoddard, Nebraska, the son of Theodore L. and Clara Henriette (Craft) Lassen. He moved to Brush, Colorado as a boy and graduated from Brush High School.He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 and was later transferred to the U.S. Navy. John served in the South Pacific during World War II, honorably serving from 1942 until his discharge in 1945.Following his discharge, John graduated from Dana College in Blair, Nebraska with a degree in Music and later received his Masters in Music Education from Colorado Teachers College (now University of Northern Colorado). John married Myrle Fleming in 1953 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.Mr. Lassen was a music teacher primarily in Cañon City from 1962 until his retirement in the mid 1980s. He moved to Brighton in 2007 from Cañon City.He was a member of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Cañon City, the Elks Club and served on the Board of Directors of Pueblo Community College. In his retirement, John's avocation and hobby was custom knife making. He was preceded in death by his wife, Myrle Lassen in 1994; his parents; four brothers and three sisters.John is survived by two sons, Ted Lassen of Denver and David Lassen (Lee) of Aurora; a daughter, Kathy Hopper (Sam) of Longmont; a brother, Lorenz Lassen of Massachusetts and two grandchildren, Karen Hopper and Nathan Hopper.A visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00AM with a Funeral Service to follow at 11:00 AM Mon. Dec. 26 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 801 Sheridan Ave.., Cañon City. Interment at Lakeside Cemetery, Cañon City. Memorial Contributions may be made to Parkinson's Association and mailed to Ahlberg Funeral Chapel, Longmont. Share condolences and memories with John's family at www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com.