52 Ancestor in 52 Weeks: Week 12 - Greg Rasmussen

This week I highlight my uncle, Greg Rasmussen.    

I attended Greg's funeral this past weekend, he died on March 17, 2014.

Obituary from stgeorgeutah.com

I spent a fair amount of time with Greg growing up, not as much later on as I moved to different parts of the country and he moved to LaVerkin, and later Hurricane Utah.

When I was growing up - I went almost every weekend to my grandparents house with my dad.   Even though Bountiful was a mere 20 minutes away from our home in Salt Lake City, Bountiful was like visiting another world.  It was like going on vacation.

Grandma's house had a huge garden, chickens, a swing set with tire swings that my grandpa made himself.  My uncle Kurt lived there too, and on and off - Uncle Greg.

Greg was the uncle that taught you things your parents didn't want you to know, and let you do things your parents did not want you to do.    I learned how to play blackjack when I was about 7-8, I learned about music and I learned that uncles can be crazy.   He let my brothers have their first cigars and took them hunting.  He loved animals and he loved to cook and he loved to play, and he was perfectly fine including the little kids.  When he married Stacie Clark - I played blackjack with both of them.   I went to my first casino - and I was not yet 21, with them.

Greg and Stacie (Clark) Rasmussen - Wedding Day

As I entered High School, Greg was working with my dad at the insurance company, as was my sister, and my other uncle Kurt.    

Not to long before I left for college, Greg and Stacie had their first baby - Aaron, and while I was at college - their second baby Robyn.  While the kids were still young, Stacie was diagnosed with cancer and passed away.  Greg moved to LaVerkin and he and the kids lived with my grandparents.

After high school - I didn't see all that much of Greg.   Mostly at family functions here and there and funerals.    He helped my aunt, his sister, a great deal with my grandmother as her health declined.  Not too long after my grandmother died, Greg was diagnosed with colon cancer.   He had not been healthy for awhile already.

His daughter moved to Hurricane and had her first baby - Greg's first and only grandchild.    He was able to be part of her life for a short while, and hopefully she will remember him.

When I was in Hurricane for Greg's funeral, I was in the car with his daughter and granddaughter - who is 2.     The baby was in the back seat and regularly asked for her Papa, not understanding that he was no longer there for her.

Greg Rasmussen and his granddaughter

Rest in peace Greg!