Rasmussen, Etta

Etta Rasmussen, 100, longtime Iowa City and Coralville resident, died Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, in the home of Carol and Lee Tippe in Iowa City, with the assistance of Iowa City Hospice. A celebration of Etta's life will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at St. Mark's United Methodist Church, Iowa City. Visitation will be held at the church from 9:30 a.m. until service time. A luncheon will follow at the church. Burial will be in Delmar, Iowa at Evergreen Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the church, to its Health Ministries program or to the University of Iowa Foundation Etta Rasmussen Professional Development Award for the College of Nursing.

Etta was born Aug. 12, 1911, to Chris and Christina (Piepgras) Rasmussen, the youngest of seven children, at her parents' farm home near Delmar, Iowa. After finishing Delmar Consolidated High School as valedictorian, she earned a bachelor's degree at Cornell College in Mount Vernon and a diploma in nursing from St. Mary's School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn. After three years as head nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Etta served 11 years as Director of Nursing at St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing in Cedar Rapids, then 29 years as a member of the University of Iowa College of Nursing faculty. She preserved the history of the College and was a lifelong influence on many students and faculty, retiring in 1981.

Among many accomplishments in nursing, she received her master's degree from Iowa, served on the Iowa Board of Nursing, made national visits for nursing program evaluation, served as interim dean of the College of Nursing twice, established the Practical Nursing program at Iowa, and established the first Parish Nurse program in Iowa City. She received the Adelylotte Dean's Award from the College of Nursing in 2001. Etta was an active member of St. Mark's United Methodist Church, American Nurses Association and Iowa Nurses Association and recipient of the INA Edith Ruppert Award. She was a member of the Iowa City Plum Grove Questers Chapter, AAUW, Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society for Nursing, and the National League for Nursing.

Survivors include her extended family and friends: nephew, Gene Rasmussen, and his children, Erin, Megan and Brian, from Chicago; niece, Margaret Rasmussen of Lost Nation; nephew Bob's wife, Rita Rasmussen, and their children. Mark, Mary, Paula, Steven and Ann, from Des Moines; and numerous great- great-nieces and great-great-nephews. She also lovingly adopted many into her extended family, including Carol and Lee Tippe, and their daughters, Allison and Laurel; Kathryn and Mark Froehlich and Karyn and Mike Golliher and their families; Barb Magalhaes and her family; and many nursing ‘sister' colleagues.

Etta was preceded in death by her parents; five brothers, Walter, Otto, Frederick, Emil and Theodore; and one sister, Anna. She was also preceded in death by her dear friend and roommate of 40 years, Marian Van Fossen of Marion.

Online condolences may be sent to .

Published Oct. 7, 2011, in The Gazette