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BORN
1912
DIED
2011
Wayland Rasmussen Obituary
Funeral Services for Wayland Gene Rasmussen of Mountain Home, Arkansas, will be 10:00 AM Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at Kirby & Family Funeral Home Chapel, with Dr. Terry Moser officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM, Tuesday, September 20, 2011. Wayland died Friday, September 16, 2011, at Hiram Shaddox Geriatric Center, at the age of 98. Wayland was born October 23, 1912 in Mason City, IA, the son of Martin and Anna Akeson Rasmussen. He married Margaret Rosemeyer October 17, 1955, at Newkirk, OK. He worked as a Ceramic Engineer Plant Superintendent for Mason City Brick Tile. Wayland Rasmussen was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and received a Silver Star and 2 Purple Hearts. He moved from Mason City, IA to Gassville, Arkansas in 1977 where he served as mayor for 14 1/2 years. He was a Lifetime member of the American Legion. He liked to bowl, and was an avid reader.
Wayland is survived by his wife Margaret Rasmussen of Mountain Home; 2 sons, James (Joanne) Rasmussen of Hampton, IA, Joel (Shirley) Rasmussen of Clear Lake, IA; 2 daughters, Jae Leigh Woodsmall of Gassville, AR, and June Erwin of Woodbridge, VA; 8 grandchildren, Capt. James (Sheri) Vierkant, Adam (Sam) Rasmussen, Daniel Rasmussen, Ben Erwin, Alicia Rasmussen, Matt Erwin, Katie Rasmussen, John Erwin ; 1 great-granddaughter, Hayley Vierkant. He was preceded in death by his parents, 3 sisters and 2 brothers.
Burial will be in the Gassville Cemetery with military honors by the Alley-White American Legion Post 52 Honor Guard with Capt. James Vierkant, Adam, Daniel, Alicia, and Katie Rasmussen, Justin Hansen, and Jake Walker serving as pallbearers. Robert Ripple will serve as an honorary pallbearer.
Memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice.
Arrangements are by Kirby & Family Funeral and Cremation Services. Visit an online obituary and guestbook at www.kirbyandfamily.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Wayland Rasmussen
4 Entries
Carol and Jerry Bahnsen
September 24, 2011
Dear Rasmussen Family, We were so sorry to hear about Wayland's death. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you at this time.
Huddleston Family
September 21, 2011
Margaret, we have such a deep fondness for you, and you are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Jim Rasmussen
September 21, 2011
Hello again, Bob. I'm so glad that you found dad's obituary and responded to it - it's good of you to write that story and poem. I know dad would be having a good little laugh at that shrew story. And yes, he will be missed by many people because you are just one example of how he treated folks he met in life.
Someone (my wife, perhaps) asked if I had tried to contact you. You just made it easy for me. Thank you for that.
I hope all is well with you and, again, thanks for writing.
Robert Zirbel
September 20, 2011
In the summer of 1961 I got a job at the Mason City brick yard. Ol' Rass, as I always called him, asked if I had any friends from Junior College that I was attending. I said that I had quite a few, they came out and he hired them all. I wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box because one day as I was just going into a kiln, I captured a field mouse. Rass and everyone were coming out of the kiln at that time and I said to Rass--"Guess what I caught, a little field mouse!" as I opened my hands. They were bleeding and Rass said that I had caught a shrew, not a field mouse. All that blood made me flip the little mousie thing off my hand and it scurried off. Rass told me to go to my doctor, get some shots and come back to work. He was a very great man altogether and I know that everyone will miss him because he was such a loving, humble person!
SO SILENT WAS YOUR LEAVING
by Robert M. H. Zirbel
So silent was your leaving,
Not a sound to say goodbye,
Just a silence that you left behind And that silence seemed to say
“Please, please…
Do not grieve…
For I just had to go.”
So silent was your leaving,
Uttering not a painful cry
Nor even a fearful moan.
And that silence seemed to say
“Please, please…
Do not grieve…
For I just had to go.”
That silence is still not shattered
Even though my tears pour down
To join with all the unsaid words…
Those special, special words…
That I had always meant to say.
If I had cried out “Please, please do not go.”
Would you have stayed?
No, I think not
For you had been called…
And you knew you had to go.
Yes, you knew you had to go.
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