LENARD A. RASMUSSEN

Herman native Lenard A. Rasmussen of Los Molinos, Calif., died Nov. 3, 2002, in California, following a long fight with esophageal cancer.

A memorial service will be held at his home in Los Molinos at 3 p.m., Nov. 23.

Lenard A. Rasmussen was born in Herman to Alfred and Ethel Nelsine (Jessen) Rasmussen. He lived briefly in Oregon before moving back to Tekamah, where he graduated from high school in 1949. He moved his family to California in 1960 and settled in the East San Francisco Bay area. He enjoyed his reunions with his classmates of 1949.

As a Naval veteran of the Korean War, he recently celebrated with shipmates who served on the USS Jackson. He was a member of the VFW and Elks Los Molinos chapters, and was a lifetime member of the American Legion.

His passion for tinkering, fixing, making and inventing “things” continued throughout his lifetime.

He loved his home on the Sacramento River in the North Valley of California. He spent many hours watching the river with all its wildlife, from the otters’ playful stunts, to the beavers busily building their homes, making only the slightest ripples, to the fight of the salmon swimming upriver.

He is survived by his daughters, Karla Kaye Rasmussen of Larkspur, Calif.; daughter and son-in-law, Cheri and Robert “Bob” U’Ren, of Santa Rosa, calif.; two grandchildren: LaVonne Rasmussen of Hercules, Calif., Martin Colborne of Evanston, Ill.; nieces, Rebecca Finn, Mary Long, and Valorie Jensen; and nephew Bruce Rasmussen of Blair, as well as the many he has befriended through the years. All will miss his hours of stories and unique sense of humor.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Franklin E. Rasmussen.

Memorials are suggested to Sutter/VNA Hospice, 1110 N. Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa, CA, 95401; or Stanford Medical Center, Intensive Care Unit, 300 Pasteur Dr., Stanford, CA 94305; or Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Foundation, Oncology and Cardiac Services, 1111 Sonoma Ave., Suite 302, Santa Rosa, CA, 95405.

Daniels Chapel of the Roses Funeral Home in Santa Rosa was in charge of arrangements.