Barbara Jean Rasmussen
February 10, 1945 ~ April 9, 2025
Age 80 of Elk River.
Passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in Bakersfield, CA. She was a loving Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma.Barbara was born in Boone, Iowa to Clifford and Vila Sturtz on February 10, 1945. She was raised inPaynesville, MN. She married Lloyd Thorson after high school and raised their family in Elk River.
She was a devoted mom and she enjoyed taking care of her family and was their biggest supporter. Barbara worked at Alltool where she held various positions. This is where she met Duke, they were married in 1988. She continued her passion for fishing, traveling, and going up north to Breezy Point with their dog Daisy. She was always up for adventure and loved chatting to anyone she ran into. Barbara loved her flowers/crabapple tree and sitting outside by a fire. Loved playing games, enjoyed watching Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Wild & NASCAR. She was deeply loved and will be forever missed.
Preceded in death by her parents, Cliff and Vila; husband Duke; brother, Darwin Sturtz; son, Eric Rasmussen.Survived by her children, Steven (Ashley) Thorson; Kimberly (Bill) Linder; Linda (Jim) Schumacher; Keith (Angie) Rasmussen; grandchildren, Ted, Bryanna, Paige, Reese, Dominik, Jaxson, Ashtynn, Keegan: 3 great grandsons, 1 great granddaughter; sister, Shirley (Harland) Thoreson; brother, Richard (Beth) Sturtz; sister-in-law Ora Kuebler; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins and many dear friends.
A celebration of Barbara’s life will be at 1 pm Sunday, June 1, 2025 with visitation one hour prior at Roberts Family Funeral Home, Forest Lake.
There are no words that can express how grateful and blessed we are to the Hospice staff at Adventist Health Home Care.
Two years ago, Barbara moved out west to California with her daughter, Kim, who became her main caregiver. When her memory started to fail, she was more limited on what she could do. Often, she would ride along with her daughter while she completed errands. While listening to the radio, the catchy song, Tipsy/ A Bar Song by Shaboozey came on, Barbara would dance in her seat and smile. Many of her friends got kick out of knowing she was still spirited and fun-loving despite her illness. Kim really appreciated that time with her mom despite its challenges! Says so much about her family 🙂
Leave your problems and worries behind Barbara and do a little two stepping in heaven 🙂 Love and prayers to her beautiful family!