James Asmussen

James, ‘Jim’ Asmussen, 91 of Ramona, SD passed away on January 15, 2021 at Bethany Lutheran Home in Brandon, SD.  Visitation will begin at noon on Wednesday at Kinzley Funeral Home with the family present from 5 -8.   Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 21 at 2:00 PM at Oldham Lutheran Church with visitation 1 hour prior.  The family requests that anyone attending wear a mask.  The service will be livestreamed and a link will posted on Jim’s obituary at www.kinzleyfh.com.

Jim, the son of Harold and Alma (Titze) Asmussen was born on September 7, 1929 in Mount Vernon, SD.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps on       January 26, 1951 and was honorably discharged on March 7, 1951.                  He married Mary Ann Lohan on April 25, 1952 at St Catherine Catholic Church in Oldham, SD.  To this union, 7 children were born.  The first years of his married life Jim worked road construction, building some of the main highways in the Hoven, Chamberlain, Pierre and Watertown areas.  In 1956, Jim began his farming career which he continued until 1985.  When he had to leave the farm at the age of 60, Jim obtained his GED and started working as a grounds man at Dakota State College in Madison, SD until 1998.  Retirement was short-lived, Jim decided it was for the birds!!  In 1999 Jim started working for Jensen’s Nursery in Lake Preston, SD and started mowing cemetery lawns to fill in his extra time. He also dabbled in raising purebred labs for a short period of time.  He was a member of Oldham Lutheran Church and served as a trustee.  He also belonged to the Wolf Nelson Post 216 in Ramona, SD, served on the Arlington Elevator Board and Kingsbury Township Board.

When Jim finally retired, a perfect day in his life consisted of fishing and a good game of Rummy with Mary.  If it was Monday night, you would find him playing rattle with his card crew.  Mary was blessed to be married to a poet. On special occasions, Jim put pen to paper and expressed his undying love and devotion to her.  Jim always loved a good joke, and continued to do so even at the nursing home.  Often times he would be laughing at himself before he got to the punch line.

Jim suffered a stroke in March of 2020 and unfortunately could no longer be at home with Mary.  He reluctantly had to enter Bethany Nursing Home in Brandon just as Covid 19 started.  Family visits were limited during his time there but he grew to love the staff as his second family.   Jim’s family will be forever grateful for the care he received from the staff on Plum Creek at Bethany.

He is survived by his wife Mary of Ramona and their children;  Roger (Linda) Asmussen of Hutchinson, MN; Rod (Pam) Asmussen of Arlington, SD; Jo (Jeri) Westra of Centerville, SD; CoCo (Duane) Driscoll of Sioux Falls, SD; Pam Bossman of Sioux Falls, SD; Pat (Joel) Plucker of Hartford, SD and LuLu (Mike) Wheelock of Sioux Falls, SD.  He is also survived by 11 grandchildren:  Jenni (Bruce) Leonhardt; Jeremy (Kim) Asmussen; Eric (Heather) Asmussen; Heather (Bill) Pike; Matthew Asmussen; John (Jennifer) Westra, James (Katie) Westra, Jerica (Jimmy) Sieperda, JenaLee (Jeremy) Dykstra, Kaitlyn Wheelock and Hannah Wheelock, 18 great grandchildren, brother Ronnie (Sanna) Asmussen, Madison, SD; and sister VonDean Stav, Oxnard, CA; nieces, nephews and many friends.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his father-in-law John Lohan, brother Darrell, sister-and brother-in law Pat and Hank Karlstad; brother in-law Dale Stav; sister and brother-in-law Pat and Donald Lohan; grandson Chad Driscoll; and great grandson, John Tiyler Westra;

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be directed to Bethany Nursing Home, in Brandon, SD.  3012 E Aspen Blvd., Brandon, SD.