Ian Patrick Rasmussen

Ian Rasmussen, 26, passed peacefully into his Savior’s arms on Friday, June 7, 2024 surrounded by his family in the same home in Appleton where he took his first breath on July 26, 1997 as part of a planned home delivery. Ian is the youngest son of Brian and Jill (Prange) Rasmussen. He graduated from Menasha High School in 2015, earned his bachelor’s degree in math and computer science from UW-Stevens Point in 2019 and started his software development career with Esker in Madison in late 2019. His success at Esker led him to accept a transfer to its office in Denver, Colorado. His new home in Lakewood, Colorado provided the perfect environment for Ian to fulfill his passion for the outdoors. He loved hiking the mountains, fly-fishing, snowboarding and, of course, playing competitive volleyball. Most importantly, his move to Colorado provided Ian the opportunity to meet the real love of his life, Sarah Eachus.

Ian was a truly special individual and the following can hardly capture all that he meant to those he touched. He was wildly smart, with a great sense of humor. Ian loved trivia nights, competing in all things “board games” and was known as one of the best Dungeon Masters among his Dungeons & Dragons group. Ian loved music and taught himself how to play guitar and piano. His passion for volleyball and his relentless participation in volleyball tournaments in Wisconsin, Colorado and even Arizona created a tremendous number of friends who will miss seeing his infectious smile at Boatride, Cornroast and many other tourneys.

Ian was described as a kind-hearted, caring and a positive influence on others. His selflessness was witnessed in his last requests when he asked Pastor Novotny to pray that his friends and family be at peace and not question “why” or doubt God’s goodness. Ian boldly confessed his faith that he would finish his earthly race and gain victory with his Savior.

Ian will be profoundly missed by his girlfriend, Sarah Eachus; his parents, Brian and Jill (Prange) Rasmussen; his siblings and their spouses, Hilary and John Graham, Hannah and Mitchell England, Noah and Katie Rasmussen; his grandparents, Shirley Rasmussen, Dani Prange, Rich (Jeanette) Prange. He is further survived by aunts and uncles, Fritz (Sheila) Rasmussen, Jim (Brenda) Rasmussen, Deb (Mark) Toll, Michael Prange, Stacey (Troy) Jahns; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Ian was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Richard Rasmussen and uncle, Dave Rasmussen.

The family would like to give special thanks to the medical team at UW Health Carbone Cancer Center in Madison and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas for their care and treatment of Ian during his 6-month battle against renal medullary carcinoma (RMC), a very rare and aggressive type of kidney cancer. The compassion and assistance provided by Robin Bach, RN, MSN and Brenda (Popp) Westley, RN, was especially cherished by Ian and his family.

Ian will be missed, but he will live on in the fond memories of all those he impacted during his life.

A memorial is planned for Wednesday, June 19 at the Fritsch Park Pavilion, 1651 Sandys Lane, Menasha, WI 54952. Plan to arrive by 4 p.m. to attend a short memorial service. Following the service, tributes and remembrances are welcome to be shared. The remainder of the evening will be for activities Ian loved such as volleyball, spike ball, pickleball, bag toss and others. Please come like you would for a picnic and if possible, bring a lawn/bag chair in case of a large attendance.

In memory of Ian Rasmussen, contributions may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486 or http://www.mdanderson.org/gifts with a notation that the donations are to be applied to Dr. Pavlos Msaouel’s Renal Medullary Carcinoma (RMC) research in the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology.