Rasmussen, Alyce S. 1924-2012

RASMUSSEN, SMITH, PARKS

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 1/19/2018 at 08:56:38

Alyce S. Rasmussen
1924 - 2012
West Des Moines

Alyce S. Rasmussen, age 87, died Wednesday, September 26, after a short illness. It occurred in the Walnut Ridge Senior Center, in Clive, Iowa, where she had been living to be near her daughter Carole. She is survived by her husband and true love Richard, with whom she was married for 65 years, and by her sons David and Thomas and daughter Carole, as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Alyce was born November 29, 1924, in Nashua, Iowa, to William Lowell Smith and Hazel Parks Smith. She graduated from high school in Nashua and, after WWII, from the College of Commerce at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. While in college, she was introduced to her eventual husband when both she and Richard were invited to Thanksgiving dinner by the minister of the local Congregational church. They married at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Alyce's hometown in 1947.

After raising her children, Alyce earned her teaching credentials at Marycrest College and taught at Lincoln and Jefferson elementary schools in Davenport for 22 years. In 1988, she and Richard both retired and traveled the country in their motor home, visiting 49 states. Together they were avid square dancers and round dancers, and she pursued an interest in genealogy.

Alyce is remembered as a woman who instilled critical thinking in others. She wanted to listen and make people feel special, and she showed a genuine interest in their ideas. On December 8, 2008, she was profiled as part of a feature article in the Quad-City Times, "Davenport teachers continue to inspire well after graduation."

She still does. ~ The Des Moines (IA) Register Sun 30 Sept 2012