Shelly S Rasche

Shelly Sue Rasche, 69, of Camp Point, Illinois, passed away on February 3, 2025. Shelly was born on October 30, 1955 in Decatur, Illinois, daughter of Ralph & Dorothy Sherden. She married Jeffrey A. Rasche on August 8, 1981 in Decatur, Illinois. He survives.

Shelly was a prolific and versatile freelance commercial artist whose designs have been published by many companies around the world. Items that bear her designs include children’s magazines and books, greeting cards, prints, wrapping paper, wallpaper, stationery, baby bedding, fabric, counted cross stitch kits, plush animals, kitchenware, home décor, mugs, puzzles, magnets, and collectible figurines. Shelly’s career enabled her and Jeff to travel all over the United States and as far overseas as Hong Kong to meet with art directors, consultants, and numerous companies through the years.

Shelly’s playful mouse designs were featured on Bounty Paper Towels when they did a “Fun Prints” special promotion. When the movie “The Grinch” was released in 2000, Shelly was selected by a company in Los Angeles to work with Universal Studios to design all of the Grinch gift items that were sold in mass merchandise stores. That exciting project included many different Grinch products such as snow globes, hanging ornaments, figurines, rubber hand puppets, and keychains.

Shelly’s work is still represented by “Art Licensing International,” who currently offers more than 700 of her designs in their catalog and can be viewed at www.artlicensing.com. Many of her designs and products can be viewed by searching online for “Shelly Rasche” on Google, Walmart, Amazon, Ebay, etc.

In 1992, Shelly was selected by the Illinois Library Association to design Illinois’ summertime reading program. An avid reader, Shelly also worked for years, part-time, at the Camp Point Library.

Shelly graduated from Eisenhower High School in Decatur, Illinois, and from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, where she majored in pottery. After college she worked for the Decatur Area Arts Council and the Decatur Park District teaching art to all ages. After marrying Jeff in 1981 and moving to Dallas, Texas during his years in seminary, Shelly helped design liturgical vestments. Once the couple returned to Illinois in 1984, Shelly began her career as a freelance commercial artist with the first of many trips to New York City, portfolio in hand, to show her artwork to children’s book editors and other art publishers. The vast majority of meetings with art directors end in rejection, but after two years of determined effort, Shelly finally sold her first design for a greeting card on their fifth wedding anniversary. That opened the door to countless new projects and working relationships in a prolific 30 year career.

Shelly did not like to talk about her accomplishments, but she did love to teach art to children and adults. She was frequently asked to be a visiting art teacher in schools throughout Adams County. During their married life, Shelly helped Jeff learn how to do both stained glass and pottery, and together they have taught stained glass or pottery classes to countless students over the past 20 years.

Shelly and Jeff’s home, known as Windsong Acres, is also a wedding and event venue near Camp Point. It features the renovated old barns that Shelly loved to repurpose along with Jeff. The property is unique because of Shelly’s unique vision; the buildings are full of her special touches, from mosaics and original stained glass windows to imaginative and beautiful Victorian displays. Because of her “labor of love,” Windsong Acres has been the subject of numerous TV and newspaper articles over the years.

Shelly was a committed and loving mother to her three sons, always involved in their school work and other activities. She and Jeff went on frequent vacations with the boys and enjoyed daily rituals like

spending time around the dinner table, bedtime prayers, and telling stories. Although Alzheimer’s Disease robbed Shelly of getting to spend more time with her grandchildren, she got to see and love all of her six granddaughters. She often prepared special art projects to do with her granddaughters for their visits. She loved to cook, especially fancy birthday cakes and she often included children as she worked in the kitchen. Because of her habit of making cakes or pies or cookies almost daily, her father nicknamed her “Bake-a-day Shelly.”

Shelly also loved animals, especially her horses, donkeys, dogs, and cats; in fact, animals of all kinds often found their way into her artwork. She was a huge fan of John Denver, and got to see him in concert several times. In fact, his song “Windsong” inspired the name “Windsong Acres.” She had many other talents, and enjoyed sewing, doll-making, antique salvage and restoration, photography, and cake decorating.

Even before Shelly married a minister, she was a strong Christian. Her faith was frequently expressed in her artwork, and as a result she did extensive work for publishers of Christian books, magazines, and religious gift items. Shelly encouraged a new group to form, a female quartet called “Unafraid” which has now performed for years throughout the area. She drew great strength from the Bible, and faithfully followed a devotional magazine called “The Upper Room” throughout her life, often underlining key thoughts and keeping those pages out where she could continue to see them.

Survivors include her husband, Jeff; one sister Pattie (Wes) Pfeifer of Hollister, MO; three sons Benjamin (Keeli) Rasche of Chatham, IL and their children Anzley and Aliza; Zachary (Kristen) Rasche of Quincy, IL and their children Emma Kate and Elsie; Nicholas (Michelle) Rasche of Geneva, IL and their children Adeline and Avery. Shelly was also blessed to have numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as a long list of dear friends too numerous to list here. She has also been surrounded by the love of several church families through the years including Decatur First UMC, Pleasant Hill/Rockport UMC, San Jose UMC, Christ Lutheran in Quincy, Clayton Federated Church, and Camp Point/Centennial Ebenezer UMC.

In her immediate family, Shelly was proceeded in death by her parents as well as her maternal and paternal grandparents.

A memorial service will be held at the Camp Point United Methodist Church at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2025 with clergy friends officiating. Visitation will be Wednesday, February 5, 2025 from 4:00-8:00 p.m., also at the Church. Shelly will be laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery, Camp Point. Memorials are suggested to any of the following: 1) The “Panther Pride Foundation” of Central High School, to add to the existing Shelly Rasche Art Scholarship Fund, 2) The Camp Point United Methodist Church, or 3) Chaddock.

 The Lummis Hamilton Funeral Home of Camp Point is handling the arrangements; messages to the family may be shared online at: www.hamiltonfuneralhomes.net.