Darold O. Rasmussen

Funeral services for Darold Rasmussen age 90 of Plainview will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12 at the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Plainview. Burial will be in the Pleasant View Cemetery in Plainview. Visitation for Darold Rasmussen will be from 6-8 PM. Thursday at the Ashburn Funeral Home in Plainview. Military honors will be conducted by Plainview American Legion and V.F.W. Darold Rasmussen passed away September 9, 2014 in Plainview.

Darold O. Rasmussen was born on July 8, 1924 at Viborg, South Dakota to C.O. and Carrie Rasmussen. He attended schools in Viborg and Centerville and was a member of the 1942 Centerville High School graduating class. He worked on the farm with his father until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945. Following his service he briefly returned home to farm and then moved to Port Angeles, Washington where he worked for two years. He worked as an automotive parts man in Sioux City and Norfolk from 1948 to 1952. It was while working in Norfolk that Darold met Ferne Johnson. The couple married on February 5, 1950 at Bethany Lutheran Church and enjoyed 63 years of married life. Their marriage was blessed with three children, Daniel, Jolene and Gordon.

The couple farmed for 16 years until they opened Plainview International, which they owned and operated until 1983. During his years in business Darold developed many long lasting relationships with his customers which he dearly valued. Darold was active in his adopted hometown of Plainview and served in numerous organizations and on their boards. He was particularly proud of his service on the Plainview School Board during the reorganization of the Plainview School District. He also served as American Legion Commander, County Commander, on the Board of Directors for the Plainview Development Corporation and Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Plainview City Council. He was a man of faith and was an active member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

Darold enjoyed working for the betterment of the community and volunteered countless hours on projects including the Veteran’s Memorial, addition of the Klown Doll Museum, and the promotion of Plainview and Nebraska while wintering in Lake Havasu, AZ. Darold was known as “The Balloon Man” and delighted in twisting balloons for children, especially entertaining children with special needs.

During retirement, he liked working on his golf game at the Plainview Country Club with his standing foursome of good friends, Wil Naprstek, Stub Couchman, and Warren Hoffart. Four of Darold’s five ‘hole-in-one’s’ were obtained at this course. He also gained much satisfaction from his woodworking and carving projects.

Nothing brought Darold more pride and joy than his family and especially his grandchildren who are left with wonderful memories of a devoted family man who loved a good laugh and a game of cards. His surviving family includes sons Dan (Kathryn) Rasmussen of Birmingham, AL, Gordon (Tracy) Rasmussen of Holmen, WI, daughter, Jolene (Roger) Lee of Bloomington, IN and grandchildren Becky Rasmussen and Lydia of Houston, TX, Sarah Rasmussen and Andrew Rasmussen of Omaha, Jessica (Ryan) Kulinski, Jackson, Jocelyn and Sophia of Holmen, WI, Tony Rasmussen of Saukville, WI, Brooke (Garrett) Rasmussen of Holmen, WI, Makenzi Rasmussen of Madison, WI, Erin (Erik) Larson of Bellevue, WA and Katie Lee of Seattle, WA. He is also survived by brothers Everett (Delores) Rasmussen of St. Cloud, MN, Curtis (Roberta) Rasmussen of Viborg, SD, and sisters-in-law Elaine Carpenter of Creighton, NE and Marilyn Parmenter of Plainview, 18 nieces and nephews, including a special niece, Robin Huston of O’Neill, NE. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, Ferne, brothers and sisters-in-law Earl and Lorraine Rasmussen, Ray and Iona Rasmussen, sister and brothers-in-law, Ada and Jim Oakland, Dale Carpenter, and Al Parmenter.