John Keith Rasmussen, 90, of Springfield, died on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.
Burial was held at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield on Monday, Dec. 21, with military honors conducted by the Interveteran’s Burial Detail of Sangamon County. Bisch Funeral Home in Springfield assisted the family.
Mr. Rasmussen was born Nov. 7, 1930, at home in Owaneco, to John C. and Thelma E. (Sigley) Rasmussen. He married Ellen Kaye, and she preceded him in death.
He was just two years old when his mother passed away in 1933, therefore, he and his sister were raised by their maternal grandparents, John Logan and Mary Elsie (O’Connor) Sigley, and their mother’s younger sister, Mary A. (Sigley) Burke.
Mr. Rasmussen attended elementary school in Waggoner and graduated from Waggoner Community High School in 1948. He then served three-and-a-half years in the U.S. Air Force during the period of the Korean police action. After his discharge in 1954, he attended Springfield Junior College for one year, then graduated from Bradley University in 1958.
He retired from the state of Illinois on Dec. 31, 1991, after 30 years of service as an accountant with the departments of Personnel and Central Management Services.
Mr. Rasmussen was a life member of the Disabled American Veteran’s Hall Hagler Chapter #15, AF and AM, serving as the past master of Rochester Lodge 635. He was also a life member of Scottish Rite Valley in Springfield and Ansar Shrine, as well as a member of the Abe Lincoln High Twelve Club Number 38 and American Legion Post 701 in Waggoner. Additionally, he was a member of the now defunct Waggoner Methodist Church.
He is survived by his sister, M. Kathryn McGown of Springfield; four stepchildren, Deborah K. Grman and Joyce L. Fry, both of Springfield, Nancy L. Rice of Pleasant Plains and John R. (Lynette) Fry of Petersburg; and five stepgrandchildren, Mollie Beth (Chris) Easley, Annie Rice, Luke (Audrey) Rice, Matthew Grman and Tiffany Fry.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Rasmussen was preceded in death by his brother-in-law, Russell McGown.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Shriners Hospitals for Children, Illinois Masonic Charities Fund or to the DAV Hall Hagler Chapter #15.
Online condolences to the family may be left at www.bischfuneralhomewest.com.
