Gary was born October 1, 1936 in Libby, Montana; Gary was the son of Sigvard and Ora Rasmussen. He peacefully passed away in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at age 75 on July 9, 2012.
Gary attended Libby schools, graduating from Libby High School in 1954. He excelled in Football during his years in high school, earning a selection to the Montana East-West Shrine all-star game. He then briefly attended Montana State University and Washington State University; was employed as a draftsman by Boeing in Seattle. He proudly served in the United States Army including active duty overseas in Korea; worked as a draftsman for the United States Forest Service in Libby before finally completing his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education at Eastern Washington State College in 1964. Gary also earned a Masters Degree in Education from Whitworth College in 1975.
Gary loved life and greatly enjoyed his family and friends. He was very active in many diverse roles throughout his community and made a huge impact on the lives of the many generations of kids that he taught and coached.
He primarily taught Algebra and Drivers Education; coached various levels of Football, Track, and Basketball and even served as a Drill Team instructor during his lengthy 32-year career as an educator within the Clark Fork and Coeur d’Alene School Districts. In the 1980’s, under Coach Rasmussen, the Coeur d’Alene track teams won seven regional championships and twice placed runner-up at the state track meet. As the longtime Fundraising Chairman for the Viking Booster Club, Gary was passionate about and worked tirelessly to bring the community to enrich the experiences and advance the opportunities of Viking student-athletes and coaches. For these accomplishments and his long-time service, Gary received the District 1 Distinguished Service Award from the Idaho High School Activities Association following his retirement in 1996. Gary was also one of the founding board members of the Coeur d’Alene Junior Tackle Football Association.
Gary is survived by his wife Lois, three sons Rick, Steve and Bryan and two granddaughters Chelsey and Kylie.