Vester Fitzgerald Rasmussen (1921-2008)

Two weeks ago today (Jan 13, 2008), my Grandpa Rasmussen passed away -- he was 87 years old. It has been bitter-sweet to see him go. Grandpa was always so kind, loving, and sincere. He had a special gift that enabled him to make everyone around him feel special and loved. Grandma passed away about a year and a half ago and Grandpa, I know, has been lonely and has missed his life-long sweatheart ever since. Nevertheless, he continued to happily live for his 2 daughters, 7 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. He continued to make each of us and our spouses feel extremely special and loved. Mom asked me to share some of our memories of Grandpa at his funeral. As I spoke with my brothers and sister, a few themes came up as we reminisced about our beloved Grandpa.

Grandpa was a hard worker and taught us all to take pride in the things we do. Grandpa always has an immaculate yard. The flower beds were always weeded and the shrubs always trimmed just so. The lawn was always green and was mowed regularly. Even in the winter his driveway was always dry and clear of snow and ice. As he aged and was no longer able to take care of his yard himself, it caused him great pain to see it look "just nice," rather than "perfect." Grandpa was also quite concerned about his appearance. When at work he always wore shirt and tie and as he got older loved the new stylish dress and golf shirts my father would pick out for him. He was a hard-working salesman with a reputation for being honest and dependable.

He also took his priesthood responsibilities very seriously. I remember him taking me to my first general priesthood meeting when I turned 12. He took me to the Hotel Utah for an early dinner and then to priesthood meeting at the Tabernacle. It was a great example of his generosity, not only with money, but with his time as well. He used to love to buy two and three times as much food as Grandma thought was necassary and then watch the grandkids down it all. He would always take time to go golfing with us and would "oo" and "ah" and carry on about how we hit the ball so far and twice as far as he could hit it; never mind that it was never straight and his short but straight ball beat us everytime by more than 10 strokes.

Grandpa loved all sports (though golf, I think, was his favorite) and I have fond memories of attending BYU football games and Utah basketball games with Grandpa, Grandma, and my folks. He used to come attend my football and basketball games. I was always proud to be able to say my grandpa played football and basketball at the same high school as me. But I know he was proud of me too; I can't remember a high school game he missed. Grandpa also commissioned me a second lieutenant when I graduated from the Air Force Academy and then again when I pinned on captain when I graduated from medical school. It was never an inconvenience to him; he wanted to be there. His sincere and unconditional love for each of us was a great example of charity, the pure love of Christ.

Laura my have been his favorite "granddaughter;" but the way Grandpa treated us, none of us could ever deny that we weren't his favorite person -- he just had dozens of favorites. That was one of his many gifts.

Grandpa taught us that family was important. He took great care on Memorial Day to prepare and arrange the flowers at the cemetery just so. He told us stories about his childhood and his brothers and we knew that even though Grandpa was a grown up and had been a bishop, he was cool -- how could anybody who did the things he did and got into the trouble he did when he was younger not be cool.

The last time I spoke with Grandpa was about noon on January 2nd. Even though he had just had surgery and was having difficulty getting out of bed because of the pain, he immediately asked about our sweet daughter Kaitlyn. He was so excited for us and our chance to adopt this special spirit and have her a part of our family. We talked about the bowl games on New Years Day and the golf I had been able to play the previous week in Texas. It was hard to get him to talk about how he felt there in the hospital, but I did get the sense that Grandma was never far from his thoughts and through the post-op pain and confusion she was close by comforting him.

His greatest example for us to follow was the way he loved, honored, and cherished our grandmother. Nobody was treated kinder or gentler and I hope that I can show my love for my sweet Danielle the way Grandpa Ves showed his for Grandma Es.

I will miss my hero. But I am glad to know that he is with Grandma again and that because of the atonement of Jesus Christ and the gospel principle of eternal families I will see him again and give him a hug and try to tell him thank you for all he has given me.