Memorial fund established for Hachenberger girls

Shelly Hachenberger won't be there to send her two girls off to college. She won't help them pick out their wedding dresses, and she won't be there to comfort them as they try to make sense of a world without her.

But family members want to make sure they'll have the money to do those things, even without their mother who was murdered Wednesday by a former boyfriend.

"They are at a really important part of their lives developmentally," said their uncle Steve Hachenberger from his Montana home. "Money isn't going to fix their problems, but it can help pay for some long-term counseling, education."

An account has been opened at Nevada State Bank for the two girls, whom friends and family say their mother loved beyond description.

The account number is 592013148 and deposits may be made in Shelly's name at any branch.

Shelly Hachenberger, 40, was killed Wednesday morning by ex-boyfriend Chris Rasmussen, 48, who shot his way into her Hawaii Circle home, shot her, then took his own life.

Neither of the girls was in the home at the time. The youngest was visiting relatives in California and the oldest daughter spent the night at a friend's home.

Maternal grandfather Dave Churchey said the girls will help each other through.

Both girls are staying with their father, Kim Hachenberger, at his Mound House home. They both have attended Seeliger Elementary School.

Kim Hachenberger said his ex-wife was in the process of ending her relationship with Rasmussen, who, she wrote in an application for a protective order, was harassing her.

"She knew it was a bad situation," said Kim Hachenberger. "She just didn't want me to know how bad."

He is now left trying to help his daughters cope with loss.

"I don't know how a 6-year-old can understand," he said. "She knows what a dead bug is, and what dead is, but I don't know if she can understand what gone forever means.

"And I don't know if she's going to understand why (her mother is) gone forever."

A memorial service for the 1983 graduate of Carson High School and secretary to the assistant warden at the Northern Nevada Corrections Center, will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Brewery Arts Center, 449 W. King St.

Her father plans to speak at the memorial service and said there will be an opportunity to share written thoughts.

He said he also wants to thank the Carson City Sheriff's Department for its "professionalism, compassion and understanding." Both he and his wife awaited news of their daughter on Industrial Park Drive the morning that the sheriff's office SWAT team entered the home.

-- Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.

You Can Help:

Make a donation to the Hachenberger girls, whose mother was killed Wednesday, at any branch of Nevada State Bank, account No. 592013148.