Donn “Donnie” George Rasnic, 68, passed away Tuesday, February 11, 2020, at Box Butte General Hospital.
Donn was born December 30, 1951, in Greeley, Colorado, to Donald and Ethel Rasnic. Donn spent his youth in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, until the family moved to Sterling, Colo., in 1965. After graduating from Sterling High School in 1969, he attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling and Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
He worked in the Loveland, Colo., area and Lafayette, LA, until 1979 when Donn began a thirty-four year career with Burlington Northern Railway in Alliance, Nebraska. He held numerous jobs as a clerk and worked his entire career in the Alliance storehouse and yards, retiring in March 2013 as a taxi driver.
Donn was a masterful gardener, an animal lover, an avid reader, a gun collector and a skilled marksman. He never found a crossword puzzle that he didn’t complete. He followed his beloved Colorado sports teams until the end.
He was preceded in death by his parents in 2011.
Donn is survived by two brothers, Zane (spouse Rita) Rasnic of Kalispell, Montana, and Lyle (spouse Cindy) Rasnic, of Gillette, Wyoming, and one sister, Jean (fomerly Schott) Ladao (spouse Brennan), of Eureka, California, and several nieces and nephews. His last years were made infinitely better thanks to his caretaker and best friend, Lori Lore.
Memorial services will be held at a later date. Donn’s dream of an animal rescue for Alliance will soon come to fruition thanks to his creation of a trust establishing the Rasnic Rescue & Refuge. Memorials or donations may be sent to Rasnic Rescue & Refuge c/o Kendra Schott, 1124 Grand Ave, Alliance, NE 69301.
Online condolences may be left at www.batesgould.com with Bates-Gould Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.