Jon Claas passed away peacefully on Friday, June 19, 2026, from complications resulting from a heart valve replacement procedure.

For almost ninety years, Jon defined what it means to be a Renaissance man. He lived vibrantly, channeling his creativity into multiple hobbies and careers. While he was a loyal friend and a cherished father and grandfather, he also filled his life with vast personal and professional adventures. Jon served his country in the Arkansas National Guard, competed as a world class sailor, and built a diverse business legacy as the proprietor of Dansarts, Arkansas Sports Supplies, LaBick Studio, North Shore Landing, Maumelle Harbor Marina, and Claas Repairs.

Jon was born on November 20, 1936, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Holland), to Johannes Nicolaas Claas (1909-1965) and Cornelia Rijke (1916-1985). He had an older brother, Johannes Marinus (“Joop”) Claas, and a younger brother, Karl Hendrik Claas. As a young child, Jon survived the Nazi occupation and the Dutch famine. His childhood best friend was Daniël van Golden (who later became a world-renowned artist) and, after World War II, the two of them attended art school as teens. Jon’s father was a truck driver and expected his son to follow in his footsteps; however, Jon wanted more opportunities. He immigrated to the United States in 1955 with hopes of building a better future. He lived in New York City and attended New York University for two years, declaring a double major in psychology and dance. There, he met Gwen Neser, a dancer from Arkansas, and they married around 1957.

Having a particular disdain for large cities and chilly weather, Jon convinced Gwen to move back to Arkansas, and together, they founded Dansarts, a kindergarten and dance, music, and art studio for children and adults.

A vibrant and happy space, Dansarts was filled with art supplies, a piano for singing songs, mats for naps and gymnastics, mirrored walls with barres, hardwood floors Jon refinished himself, record players and tap dancing, the sound of children’s laughter, and Jackson cookies, which students lined up to enjoy at the end of class. Jon loved children and always found ways to make them smile and teach them about the world, taking them on field trips to Toltec mounds, cotton farms, and the Wonder Bread factory. Something fun was always around the corner, including visits from “Cactus” Vick with his traveling merry-go-round.

Dansarts students learned many forms of dance and movement, including ballet, tap, jazz, and gymnastics, and later, cheerleading and aerobics. Dozens of dance recitals and theater performances came to life throughout the 1960s and 1970s at Robinson Auditorium, the Arkansas Arts Center, the Central High School theatre, and other local venues. When Jon and Gwen parted ways in the early 1960s, she moved back to NYC, and he kept Dansarts. Over the years, many key figures were involved with Dansarts, including Mrs. Gore, Mrs. Pat Bass, Betty Brinkley, Dot Callanen, Betty Korenblat, Doris Mapes, Rosie Ratley, Joan Campbell, Diane Williams, and Robin Riley. Jon loved his staff and treated them like family.

In the mid-1960s, Jon married Frances Cheshire who was also a dancer and an artist. From this relationship, Jon’s life was made fuller by their daughters, Lisa and Nicole. Dansarts had a huge influence on Lisa’s life. She spent her entire childhood there dancing, painting, and bonding with Jon over what would become their lifelong mutual love of the arts.

In the late 1960s, after Jon started sailing, the 7602 Iowa Drive location that housed Dansarts became more diversified when he added Arkansas Sports Supplies, a sailboat supply shop. So many incongruous businesses in one space developed into a colorful, if not perplexing, convergence. It was a sight to see the collection of Volkswagen buses used to transport the kindergarten students; the outdoor trampoline, uneven bars, and balance beam; and sailboats on trailers awaiting repairs or new owners, all tidily organized in the parking lot. Upon entering the retail side of the building, sailors would pass the leotards and tights and the ballet and tap shoes before reaching the back room where there were sailboat parts, fittings, and supplies. This farrago of activities and articles perfectly encompassed Jon’s diverse appreciation for children, sailing, and the arts alike.

LaBick Studio became yet another business located in the building. The photography venture was complete with a dark room for processing black and white photos and a portraiture sitting room. Here, he photographed many social and community leaders, including the first several Grande Maumelle Sailing Club (GMSC) commodores. These portraits still hang on the wall of the GMSC clubhouse today.

Around 1963, Jon became involved with GMSC, the sailing community he would embrace and serve over the rest of his life. There, he made lifelong friendships with sailors, such as with Kiko Villalon, an immigrant from Cuba, Chet Hight, Max Mehlburger, and the Daugherty family, to name just a few.

Jon’s sailboat racing career took off in the late 1960s, and he traveled to regional and national regattas over several decades, racing many types of sailboats, including the Flying Dutchman, Thistle, Hobie, and various keelboats. In his early racing career, he could be found at a regatta parking lot, picking the brains of the fastest sailors in the fleet to learn how they tuned their rigging to make their boats go faster. In 1974, Jon and Chet captured the Flying Dutchman U.S. National Championship. Jon’s racing career reached its apex in this era when he competed in both the 1972 and 1976 Olympic trials.

A Hobie dealer and a used sailboat broker, he was also a J/Boat Dealer for decades. Jon and his dear friend, Max Mehlburger, owned many sailboats together, including the first J/24 on Lake Maumelle, First Claas. They won the GMSC Overall Keelboat Championship a number of times. Nicole began racing with Jon and Max at an early age and fell in love with competitive sailing. Racing with her father for four decades, Nicole was also embraced by the “sailing family” at GMSC. She followed in Jon’s footsteps, winning two national championships, serving twice as Commodore, and teaching alongside her father as Adult Learn-to-Sail Chairman for over 25 years. Jon was immensely proud when his granddaughter, Sylvie, started racing with Nicole four years ago. Even after he stopped racing, Jon contributed to GMSC by volunteering on the race committee for many years until this summer. Jon sold hundreds of sailboats and taught hundreds of people to sail, always willing to assist new sailors and sailboat owners.

In the mid-1980s, after being in business for over 25 years, Jon closed Arkansas Sports Supplies and Dansarts. However, Dansarts left an indelible mark on the community. Several former teachers and students started schools or went on to have related careers, including Dot Callanen (UALR), Nancy Scott (Children’s House Montessori School), Jana Beard (Shuffles), and Mike Tidwell (Centre for the DansArts). Dansarts touched the lives of thousands of artists, and Jon continued to run into former students for decades as recently as last month when a physical therapist recognized him and called out in surprise, “Mr. Jon!”

For almost 30 years, Jon spent one weekend a month and one month each summer serving in the Arkansas National Guard. It was through this service that, in 1961, he was naturalized as a U.S. Citizen. In the mid-1980s, he retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and immediately went to work for the U.S. Military Group.

Jon worked on and off in Central America for several years in the late-1980s, organizing doctors and nurses to provide medical care to indigenous people. His first position was in Guatemala where he became fluent in Spanish and fell in love with the people. One of his assignments was cut short when Noriega was ousted, and Jon had to be evacuated from Panama. His love of Central and South America persisted over many decades, and he later traveled to Argentina to learn to Tango, to Peru to hike to Machu Picchu, and to the Yucatan Peninsula to explore Chichén Itzá.

At around age 53, Jon began his journey in furniture restoration, training under Renee Dennis and establishing Claas Repairs. Over 40 years, he grew the business into a trusted name respected by interior designers, antique dealers, institutions, and individuals. His daughter, Lisa, and son-in-law, Charlie, frequently lent their creative talents to the shop’s portfolio, including high-profile projects like the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts renovation. Jon’s longtime shop employees became like family to him, and consistent with his keen sense of community and generosity, his wish was for Claas Repairs to live on in their capable hands.

A lifelong dancer, Jon especially enjoyed ballroom dancing in his later years. For over two decades, he danced several nights a week, quickly becoming a favorite partner among the ladies. Known as a dapper dresser, Jon had a unique trademark style: he wore clogs nearly every day of his life, even pairing them with shorts in the summer. However, the only time those clogs would come off happened while dancing, replacing them with proper dance shoes.

Jon was a dedicated supporter of the arts, local theater, and public radio and television. He frequented Murray’s Dinner Playhouse, where he enjoyed watching his former students perform. A lover of classical music, he held season tickets to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for decades and served on its Board of Advisors.

He heavily encouraged his granddaughter, Sylvie, to take piano and violin lessons. Most weekdays at 4:30pm, he could be found in her living room listening to her practice. Jon found comfort in routine, and a clock could be set by when he called his favorite waitress, Danielle, to order lunch at BJ’s or by when he walked through the door at his bank to greet Jay and Matt. He kept a busy schedule until the very end, living independently, working full-time, and, on Sundays, going to GMSC to visit with his sailing family and watch Nicole and Sylvie race.

He was always repairing or rebuilding something, including cars, sailboats, air conditioners, washers, compressors, and small engines. He even designed and built custom spinnaker poles for Thistle sailboats. He started his painting career spraying sailboat bottoms, later applying those skills to finishing furniture. He learned to make molds of antique pieces to match and fabricate new replacement pieces. There was nothing that he would not attempt to fix or refine.

Everywhere Jon went, he made a friend and built a community, leading by example with patience, dedication, and optimism. His warm Dutch accent complemented his frequent use of humor to put everyone around him at ease. The deep roots he put down in Arkansas came full circle through his granddaughter, Sylvie, whose life is interwoven with Jon’s world. She attended Children’s House Montessori School, owned by his former student, Nancy Scott, and learned to play piano on the upright Wurlitzer from Dansarts. For ten years, she has taken violin lessons from Katherine Williamson of Jon’s beloved Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and she is following in her family’s footsteps by coaching at GMSC’s Junior Learn-to-Sail program. Through all of his communities, Jon built lasting relationships that now stand as his legacy.

Jon was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother, Joop. He is survived by his daughters, Lisa Claas-James (Charles Henry James) and Nicole Claas Moore (Robert S. Moore III), and granddaughter, Sylvie Moore, all of Little Rock. Jon held a warm regard for his step-granddaughter, Rebecca Shore and her children, Evan and Eliana, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jon is survived by his brother Karl Claas of Torrence, California, nephew Carl Claas of Mount Vernon, Missouri, nephew Peter Claas of Lake Havasu, Arizona, niece Saskia Claas of Murphreesboro, Tennessee, and nephew Karl Claas of Portland, Oregon; and his longtime Claas Repairs employees, Jerson Santay (Amy), his son, Jacob “Buddy”, and Darwin Santay.

The family sincerely thanks Dr. Julie Windholz at the UAMS Longevity Center, ICU nurses, Carol and Tish, Nurse Julia, and speech pathologist, Emily Ann. They also appreciate the extraordinary staff at Hospice Home Care, including Rachel, Mary Elizabeth, and Jimmy. Even in Jon’s most difficult moment, he brought us together, made us feel more comfortable, and made us laugh.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 1, 2026, at 5pm, in the Cultural Living Room at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts at 501 East 9^th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Junior Learn-to-Sail program at Grande Maumelle Sailing Club, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the Little Rock Animal Village, or your preferred charity.

Cremation arrangements by A Natural State Funeral Service 2620 West Main Street, Jacksonville, Arkansas 72076. 501-982-3400. Full Obituary at www.anaturalstatefuneralservice.com