Clark William Rasmussen, Sr.

Clark William Rasmussen Sr. was born on August 9th, 1936 to Wilbur and Agnes Clarke Rasmussen in Bellingham, WA. He spent much of his young life inventing, playing music, fishing and exploring in the outdoors. These young passions and his adventurous spirit carried over into adulthood and remained prevalent throughout his life. In the 1960s, Clark begain a career with the Shell oil company that developed into a career in aviation. He was a pilot for Shell Oil company until the mid 1970s, then sold Piper Airplanes for some time before a career change into the cycling world in the early 1980s when he and his wife, Barbara, opened Mission Bay Multi Sport in Elgin, IL. Clark's passion for cycling began back in 1972 when he and two of his sons, Clark Jr. and James, rode their bikes from Illinois through Wisconsin and upper Michigan to lake Superior. Years later, and armed with the knowledge of aviation science technology, Clark saw a potential for improvement in bicycle wheels. He moved back to San Diego in the early 1980's and opened Mission Bay Wheel in Spring Valley. Soon after, he invented the Velomax Threaded Hub which was later sold to Easton. Velomax patent http://www.google.com/patents/US5487592 Clark was a perfectionist, whose dedication, passion and drive could be witnessed in his work and his hobbies... which were not so much hobbies as professional talents. Among these many talents, he was a runner, a track cyclist, and a well versed pianist and flautist. He was a pioneer in the running community in the 1960's and even in his 70s, Clark was still comparing split times on his daily runs (or "shuffles" as he modestly called them then). Clark's competitive cycling career began later in life in the late 1980's and by 1991 he was a National Age Division Champion in the Kilo and the Pursuit. When he wasn't outside training, he could often be found at a piano or a music stand playing the complicated melodies of Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart on the piano or flute. Clark passed away on March 17th, 2014 from complications associated with dementia. He was 77 years old. He is survived by his sister Gayle Taylor of Orinda, CA, his wife Barbara of San Diego, his sons Clark Jr (Peggy) of San Francisco, James (Linda) of San Diego, and Carl (Joan) of Beaverton, OR, his stepdaughter Erin Southam of San Diego, his grandchildren Cayley, Connor, Riley, Ryan, Brigid, and Ingrid Rasmussen, and Kalika Southam. A celebration of the memory of Clark's life will be held on Saturday, April 19th, 2014, 1:00-3:00PM at Stone Brewery Farm. 9928 Protea Gardens Dr Escondido, CA 92026. http://www.stonebrewing.com/farm/ Please contact the family through this site for more information.

Clark William Rasmussen, Sr.

August 9, 1936 - March 17, 2014