Sunglasses perched on her head, Chuck Taylor sneakers on her feet and wearing a Pink Floyd T-Shirt, Mary Nicole Rasmussen, 55, was a creator of many traditions. From hiding hundreds of Easter eggs in a field to carrying a Northwest Indiana cardboard boat racing legacy for more than a decade, family members said she left behind innumerable memories.
Mary Rasmussen, of Thayer, Indiana, died Feb. 21 at home surrounded by her family. A celebration of life is planned for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at Burdan Funeral Home and Crematory, 12901 W. Wicker Ave. in Cedar Lake. There will be a prayer service at 5:30 p.m.
Her brother-in-law, Bob Bong, who wrote her obituary, said she came from Riverdale, Illinois, to live in Cedar Lake, where she raised her family and became involved in the community. She carried the title of Cub Scout Den Mother and was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles 2529, as well as being a longstanding volunteer with the Cedar Lake Summerfest committee with her husband, Ken Rasmussen Sr. Bong described her as being the glue of the family.
“She planned birthdays, holidays, weddings, reunions, parties — you name it,” he said. “She always had a way of bringing everyone together. She was a special kind of person like that. To know her was to love her, and she loved everyone.”
Bong said while Mary Rasmussen had multiple sclerosis and kept a positive outlook through health challenges, her death was unexpected. She had just celebrated Valentine’s Day with her husband, and the family was anticipating her traditional big Easter celebration soon.
“She loved decorating for different holidays and especially enjoyed celebrating Easter,” Bong said. “She would spend hours filling hundreds of plastic Easter eggs with money and candy that she would scatter around the yard before setting dozens of kids and adults loose in a series of carefully organized Easter egg hunts. Grand prizes always featured giant chocolate Easter bunnies or huge Easter baskets.”
Her house in Cedar Lake was a summer cabin converted for year-round living that she endearingly called the “world’s smallest house,” where she lived with her husband, Ken Rasmussen Sr., and children, Ken Rasmussen Jr., Corine Rasmussen and Samantha Rasmussen.
“She showed the importance of staying connected,” Corine Rasmussen said. “She was very generous. She took in all my strays, whether it was a human — a friend who reached out to me because they saw her as a mother, too. Or it could be stray animals, cats, a raccoon. We had an open-door, open fridge policy. She cared about everyone.”
Corine Rasmussen said her mother was up by 4 a.m., and by 7 a.m., she would have talked to people across ten states. Sam Rasmussen said she was someone people came to when they needed guidance. She recalled her aunt telling her that she would call her mother often for advice, to which she would always respond with words of wisdom.
“The next time she saw her, she was wearing a Yoda shirt that had his sayings on it, and my aunt realized she was quoting Yoda the whole time,” Sam Rasmussen said.
Ken Rasmussen Jr. recalled when his mom, a member of the MacArthur Elementary School PTO, advocated for the creation of a wheelchair-accessible playground.
“She taught us to stand up for the little guy, and to look out for everyone,” he said.
Ken Rasmussen Sr. met his wife in study hall during sophomore year. Since then, they shared many adventures and enjoyed traveling to new places.
In 2013, the duo took over leading the annual Cardboard Boat Race at the Cedar Lake Summerfest. The couple was also avid racing competitors, at one point fitting 18 people onto a cardboard craft.
The cardboard boat race is a unique Cedar Lake tradition. Families and friends pile into cardboard watercraft of their own construction to commandeer through a course that, most of the time, ends with sinking vessels. Win or lose, there’s a sense of triumph in even attempting it. Life, like a boat made out of cardboard, may not last forever, but if done right, it will be a fun ride made in good company.
Mary Joan Dickson, Cedar Lake Town Council member, said Mary Rasmussen was a cornerstone of the festival.
“This year’s Summerfest and Cardboard Boat Races will feel different,” Dickson said. “There will be a space that cannot be filled and a presence we will miss beyond words. But her spirit will live on in every carefully planned detail, every smiling volunteer, every boat that launches from the shore, and every child laughing in the summer sun. We join the entire Rasmussen family in mourning this tremendous loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ken, her children, grandchildren, and all who loved her. Mary’s legacy is woven into the heart of Cedar Lake Summerfest, and it always will be.
In 2015, Mary Rasmussen raced, but this time, away from the event after learning her youngest granddaughter was being born.
“She loved being a grandma, even to ones who weren’t hers,” her husband said. “She was a nana to all. All of our kids’ friends called her Mom. She was very caring, lovable, and charitable. She made me a better person. I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of people at her memorial.”
Her grandchildren are Annalise Rasmussen, Jackson Rasmussen, and Mary Rasmussen, and survivors include her siblings Douglas Potter, Corine (Bob) Bong, Bonnie (Cleveland) George, and Lisa (Ron) Dahmer. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick Potter and Louise Potter, and brothers Michael Potter and Mark Potter.
Annalise Rasmussen and Jackson Rasmussen described her as “the best grandma.” For every person’s birthday, Mary Rasmussen would cook any meal they’d request.
“Mine was a giant meatball,” Annalise Rasmussen. “Every year she would make the meatball bigger, until last time, when it was bigger than my head. She spoiled us all the time.”
Mary Rasmussen and her family later moved to the old Fogli Hotel in Thayer, a 22-room historic building that was completed in 1902. Relatives said she bought the former hotel to create a family home and renovate the property together. Bong said there were longstanding rumors that Al Capone and Teddy Roosevelt once stayed at the very same destination along the Kankakee River.
Mary Rasmussen’s obituary can be found at www.burdanfuneralhome.com, where there are options to send flowers, plant a tree in her memory or donate to a list of charities.
Anna Ortiz is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
