Donald James Rasmusson

Donald James Rasmusson, 86, of Fergus Falls, died Saturday, October 20, 2018 at PioneerCare in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

He was born May 5, 1932, in Pelican Rapids to Arthur and Ida (Tollefson) Rasmussen. In 1941, when Don was the age of seven, the Rasmussen family bought a farm in Carlisle Township where they joined Hedemarken Lutheran Church. He attended District 1503 in Carlisle Township and graduated from Rothsay High School.

He joined the Army Signal Corps on May 15, 1954, and was stationed in Hawaii. On July 28, 1954, he married Rose Mary Budke at Foxhome Lutheran Church. Don was discharged from the Service on March 5, 1956, and returned to Carlisle Township to farm, where he continued to make his home until 2015. In recent years, Don lived at Mill Street Residence and moved to PioneerCare in September of 2018.

Through the years, he was an active member at Hedemarken Church where he was a former council member, 4-H Leader, and a member of the Elizabeth Sportsmen’s Club. He enjoyed dancing, bowling, hunting, fishing, trapping and horseshoes. In addition to farming, Don worked for several years at the Broen Memorial Home, ShoreMaster and Lake Area Docks and Lifts.
Don loved to follow the kid’s activities, read history books and take the grandkids fishing.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Arthur and Ida Rasmussen ; wife, Rose Mary; son, Jeff; siblings and in-laws, Irene and Charles Zimmerman, Leo and Selma Rasmussen, Lois and Allen “Bud” Hanneman, Sidney “Sid” Rasmussen, Mervin Budke, Errol Kugler, Jerry Budke, Annie and Jim Hasbargen, Myrt Keller, Marcella Budke and Roy Budke.

Survivors include children, Deborah (David) Hegseth, of Fergus Falls, Glenda (Randy) Schmidgall of Olathe, KS, Donavan (Renae) Rasmusson of Fergus Falls, and daughter-in-law Roxanne Rasmusson of Brainerd; eleven grandchildren, Mali (Matt) Moss, Erik Hegseth, Alicia (Andres) DeLeon, Ryan (Sarah) Schmidgall, Jordan Rasmusson, Brianna Rasmusson, Randi (Zac) Glennen, Geordan Goodell, Meghan Goodell, Kilee Rasmusson and Robert Rasmusson; six great-grandchildren, Owenn and Wyatt Hegseth, Norah Rose Moss, Logan Martin, Elena Glennen and Declan Schmidgall; brother and sister in-laws, Clarice Rasmussen of Fergus Falls, JoAnn Kugler of Fergus Falls, Ervena Budke of Fergus Falls, Renee Budke of Florida, Mavis Budke of Pelican Rapids, Donald (Kathy) Budke of Underwood and Cyril Keller of Fergus Falls; and many loving nieces, nephews and friends.

Visitation: 5-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 24, at the Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls and resuming one hour prior to the service at the church
Service: 11:00 a.m., Thursday, October 25, at Zion Lutheran Church of Fergus Falls
Clergy: Reverend Chris Eldredge
Military Participation: Fergus Falls V. F. W. Post 612 and American Legion Post 30
Interment: Hedemarken Cemetery