Ally Rasmussen eulogized for mix of love, spunk as 1,000 turn out for funeral

EPHRAIM—The stories and attributes used to describe Allyson “Ally” Rasmussen by speakers at her funeral were all expansions and variations of a theme in her obituary, summed up in a simple sentence.

“Her spunk and sass were perfectly balanced by her loving heart, beaming smile and tight squeezes,” the obituary read.

Far and away, the key words in that sentence, proven over and over again by people who spoke, as well as people who have spoken of her in other private and public conversations, were “her loving heart.”

So effulgent and plentiful are the stories and examples of Ally’s loving nature that it had to have been extraordinary.

“She just loved everybody so much,” Ally’s mother, Mollie Rasmussen, said in her tribute to her daughter.

The funeral, on Friday, March 21, was attended by an overwhelming throng of people, continuing the massive outpouring of support the family has been shown since Ally’s sudden and unexpected death on March 14 from a rare form of brain bleed.

Shaun Kjar, bishop of the Rasmussen’s LDS ward, estimated turnout at the funeral at 1,000 to 1,200. He described the crowd as “the largest I’ve ever seen” for a funeral.

Every seat in the chapel and cultural hall at the Ephraim LDS Stake building was full, he said. Chairs were set up on the stage. They were all taken. And scores of people stood in the foyer and hallways.

The funeral was live-streamed over Zoom and seen by more than 350 viewers. “That is by far the most we have ever had,” Jeff Rasmussen of Rasmussen Mortuary said. “We usually have a cap of 100 on our three accounts. Most funerals have about a dozen watching. We have never hit our normal cap of 100.”

The flood of compassion flowing the Rasmussen family’s way was mentioned by Ephraim Mayor John Scott during a city council meeting on Wednesday, March 19.

“Most people are good.”

A note found on a piece of paper, written by Ally Rasmussen.

“The last few days, I think, have shown the state and the world who Ephraim City is by showcasing their love, their devotion and their commitment to this Rasmussen family,” the mayor said.

“There are people who have gone into their home, cleaned every wall, cleaned the carpets, did the laundry, dusted everything in the home, did the dishes, cleaned the windows…”

Scott recently wrote an article in the city newsletter in which he praised people, residents and city employees alike, who went the “extra mile” for the community. “Little did I know it would be on such rich display with this tragedy,” he said. “I knew Ally, and she was a delight. She loved people. Anyone who knew her felt like they were her best friend. I think we have seen Ephraim at its finest.”

Two days later, the day of the funeral, those “finest” donned clothing, badges and facepaint of blue and pink, which came to symbolize Ally and support for her family in the days following her death.

“You guys are truly a sight, all of the blue on all of your faces,” Mollie Rasmussen said as she scanned the audience from the podium. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to thank you all. We have felt all of your love and prayers and support and just know we appreciate you and we love each and every one of you so, so much.”

How do you sum up a life—even one as brief as 12 years—in just a few short minutes, with only a few trauma and grief-stricken days to prepare? “It’s hard to remember all of the things that we love about people in such a short amount of time,” Mollie Rasmussen said.

She spoke much of Ally’s love for various things—animals (especially horses and dogs), flowers and music, skiing and volleyball—and even, in a more humorous vein, for lies and petty larceny.

With all the talk of Ally’s love, she was no saint.

“Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody.”

Advice that Mollie Rasmussen often gave her daughter

“Ally was a liar and a thief,” Mollie said. “The lies just float freely from that child.” And then she shared several stories of lies Ally told and items around the house she stole—all relatively harmless but displaying a devilish personality that seemed to be exactly what her father, Josh Rasmussen, referred to in his eulogy of his daughter. “She has always been a little bit spicy,” he said.

Where his wife, in her words, focused on Ally’s personality traits and qualities, Josh Rasmussen focused on stories—instances and moments that he had shared with his daughter: bedtime hugs; a Christmas concert at Snow College in which Ally had the part of an angel and got to ring a bell at one point during a piece; playing basketball; going skiing; going to the beach; and the way she had begun to follow a very strict schedule she’d written for herself on a piece of paper, which the family found while going through her things.

With the schedule, though, were a couple other things she’d written that Josh didn’t notice until later. “I think there were things that were maybe on her mind or that she’d heard someone say and was trying to do one of them,” he said.

“She just wrote ‘humble and kind.’ She also wrote, ‘love myself,’ and ‘most people are good’—and that has been evidenced so much,” he said to the audience. “So thank you for being the ‘most people’ who are good.”

Joshua, Mollie and a third speaker, Ally’s eldest brother Talon Rasmussen—who had just returned from an LDS mission the day after Ally’s death, all spoke one way or another of that “spice.”