Necrology
Because Hamilton Remembers
Ann Elizabeth Rasmussen '89
Oct. 17, 1967-Nov. 11, 2018
Ann Elizabeth Rasmussen ’89, a teacher and freelance writer of Amagansett, N.Y., was born on Oct. 17, 1967, at Chanute Air Force Base in Champaign County, Ill., the daughter of the former Joan Daly and Paul Rasmussen ’62. Her father was stationed at the now decommissioned base as a dentist during the Vietnam War. Rasmussen grew up in New York City and Schenectady, N.Y.
At Hamilton, Rasmussen majored in history. Her sister Alicia Rasmussen Weiner ’98 recalled Rasmussen’s passion for travel and culture. She spent one January term in Cairo, Egypt, and another learning Italian, which she used during her travels to Greece. She also spent spring of her junior year at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.
Rasmussen earned a master’s degree in European history from New York University in 1993. She taught history and English at the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan and the Ross School in East Hampton before entering real estate.
Following her diagnosis and throughout her six-year battle with breast cancer, Rasmussen wrote a blog, sharing her ups-and-downs and observations as she coped with treatments. “Readers say they laughed, they cried, they were inspired. I don’t know,” she wrote on her website. “I just wrote from the heart and hoped people would like it and maybe learn something.”
A month before she died, Rasmussen celebrated her birthday at a tea at the South Fork Country Club in Amagansett attended by her closest Hamilton friends, and other friends and family, her sister noted. Even in a wheel chair, she still made her way around the room engaging those gathered in a lively “celebrity guessing game,” where everyone guessed which celebrity they most resembled.
Ann E. Rasmussen died on Nov. 11, 2018. She was 51 years old and is survived by her husband of 14 years, George Fontanals, her parents, and three siblings. Other relatives include brother-in-law Matthew Weiner ’98 and an uncle, the late Noel Rasmussen ’66.
Note: Memorial biographies published prior to 2004 will not appear on this list.
Necrology Writer and Contact:
Christopher Wilkinson '68
Email: Chris.Wilkinson@mail.wvu.edu
The Joel Bristol Associates
Hamilton has a long-standing history of benefiting from estate and life payment gifts. Thoughtful alumni, parents, and friends who remember Hamilton in their estate plans, including retirement plan beneficiary designations, or complete planned gifts are recognized and honored as Joel Bristol Associates.
