John Farr Larson, Senior Judge and devoted family man, died at his home in Salt Lake, April 28, 1994, surrounded by his loving family, following a valiant struggle with cancer.

He was born June 19, 1917 in Taylor, Weber County, Utah, the only son of James Abraham and Olive Harriett Farr Larson. He married Ann Clayson June 26, 1939 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.After completing his early education in Ogden, he entered Weber State College at age 16, and graduated with an AA degree. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Utah Law School. He was admitted to practice before the Utah and United States Supreme Courts, and U. S. Court of Military Appeals. He was a graduate of the National College of Juvenile Justice at the University of Nevada where he also served on the faculty.

His 45-year service to the State of Utah began as a Probation Officer and Chief Probation Officer. He supervised Foster Home Placements for the State Department of Public Welfare. He was director of Utah State Bureau of Services for Children from 1944-1963. He began his distinguished career as a Juvenile Court Judge in 1963, and served until 1984. Upon retirement he continued as an active Senior Judge and also sat on the Utah State Appellate Court.

His professional affiliations and assignments included: Member, Editorial Advisory Board of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; Consultant for U. S. Children's Bureau on Standards for Specialized Courts Dealing with Children; Faculty, Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE); Chairman (1950) and member (1960) of Utah Committee, White House Conference on Children and Youth; Secretary of Governor's Committee on Defective Delinquents and Aggressive Sex Offenders; Chairman, Governor's Task Force on Juvenile Corrections (1981). A major overhaul of juvenile corrections in Utah resulted from the recommendations of this task force.

Judge Larson served on the Board of Fellows, National Center for Juvenile Justice, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for seven years. Member of the Advisory Board of the National Center for Child Welfare Leadership, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Judicial Advisor for the American Law Institute on family termination from 1990-92 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.