April 11, 1929 — June 2, 2017
ALGONA — Marabeth Ostwald, age 88, of Algona and formerly of Whittemore, passed away on June 2, 2017 at the Algona Good Samaritan Care Center. Memorial services will be Saturday, June 10, at 2 p.m., at the First United Congregational Church of Christ in Algona, with the Rev. Chris Bartnett officiating. Visitation will follow the service until 5 p.m., at the church.
Marabeth was born Marie Elizabeth Owens April 11, 1929, to Elizabeth Wagenbreth Owens and Irvin King Owens in Wichita, Kan., where her father was a geologist with Shell Oil Company and her mother was a librarian. They moved around Kansas, living in Russell and then Great Bend where her sister Joanne was born in 1933. After her parents divorced in 1942, she moved with her mother and sister to St. Louis, and lived with her aunt and uncle, Joseph and Rose Wagenbreth Hess in Richmond Heights. She graduated from Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School in St. Louis In 1947 and then graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor’s Degree in Retail in 1951. Her first job was as an assistant buyer for Famous-Barr department store in St. Louis. She loved working in retail, especially at holiday time.
On a trip to West Bend with her aunt Johanna Berninghaus Wagenbreth, she was set up on a blind date with Roland Ostwald. They went to the Plantation Ballroom at Whittemore where they danced to the music of Lawrence Welk. Over the week she stayed in Iowa they had several more dates and the courtship continued long distance over the next year with many trips back and forth between Whittemore and St. Louis. When Marabeth came to Whittemore in January of 1952 and went to a Whittemore basketball game she was sporting a diamond engagement ring and word quickly got around on the party line that Roland was engaged. The wedding was held in St. Louis on an “ungodly hot” day in September of 1952. They honeymooned in the south seeing Florida and New Orleans.
Coming to live on a farm in Iowa was definitely a huge change for Marabeth. She was unfamiliar with basic housework such as laundry and she washed something green with her father in law’s underwear resulting in Roland’s father wearing green underwear. Marabeth said he never mentioned it but he must have wondered about this new city girl he got for a daughter in law. She said meeting her neighbor Mandy Walker and Roland’s cousin Ruth Wehrspann helped her survive in her new surroundings, teaching her how to cook, garden, can, clean chickens and gather eggs. In 1966 she and Roland started a 10,000-bird poultry operation and she was in charge of gathering eggs twice a day. In 1970 she was honored by being named one of seven Master Farm Homemakers in the state of Iowa. She grew to love the farm in the 37 years she lived there.
On March 7, 1954, Roland and Marabeth welcomed their first child, a son they named Roland Henry Ostwald Jr. Who became known as Hank. Motherhood was another new venture for her and she was thankful that Roland was a big help. She said Hank was so tiny that she was afraid he would break. Her Aunt Jean, who also knew nothing about babies, came to help her and she used to joke that it was the blind leading the blind.
Three years later, on March 10, 1957, Elise Caroline was born. Marabeth said that they were so much more relaxed with her that they used to put her in bed with them and listen to her jabber. Marabeth thoroughly enjoyed motherhood and was an avid supporter of all their school activities. She was a Sentral Band Mother, a Cub Scout leader, and was on the Sentral School Board.
In addition to family, she belonged to and held office in many local organizations including P.E.O., Whittemore Women’s Club, Fun and Do Club, political county co-chairman, Kossuth Regional Hospital Woman’s Auxiliary, Lotts Creek precinct election volunteer, numerous bridge clubs and was a Weight Watcher’s leader.
After coming to Iowa, Marabeth had several part time jobs including the Algona Public Library and working in the town of Whittemore doing door-to-door assessments for the Kossuth County Assessor. Until she died she could tell you who lived in most every house in Whittemore. In retirement she worked for Iowa Lakes Community College as an office manager and proctor. She loved her students and saw many of them when she was hospitalized at KRHC and while a resident at Good Samaritan.
Marabeth’s greatest joys were her children and grandchildren. She loved spending time with her family at Okoboji, reading, her dogs Rover, Hugo, Winifred, Henrietta, and Gretchen, most all sports but especially tennis and college basketball. She also loved to play cards and belonged to many bridge clubs.
Marabeth fought a courageous battle with rheumatoid arthritis since she was in her 40’s. She got to know the Mayo Clinic in Rochester quite well and had numerous joint replacements over the years. We used to joke she had so much metal in her she would set off the alarms at the airport. She always had a smile for people and never complained about the intense pain she must have been experiencing. After Roland died in 2011, her health began to deteriorate. With the caring assistance of Cindy Harig, she was able to stay in her condo until she was 86, then she lived for a short while at Windsor Manor and had just moved to Good Samaritan four months ago. She died at Good Samaritan Friday, June 2 surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Marabeth was preceded in death by her husband Roland in 2011, her mother in law, Caroline Wehrspann Ostwald in 1942, her father in law, Henry Ostwald in 1963, her mother in 1994, her father in 1976, and her brother in law, James M. Pierce in 2016. She is survived by her children, Roland Henry Ostwald Jr. (Hank) of Spencer, and Elise Ostwald Vaske and her husband Gene of Whittemore; her grandchildren, Roxanne Vaske Wibben and her husband Lee of Ledyard, Kaitlyn Vaske Wright and her husband JJ of Chicago, and Daniel Butters Ostwald of Santa Barbara, Calif. Also surviving is her sister, Joanne Owens Pierce of Albuquerque, NM; her niece, Elizabeth Pierce and her husband Jim Guthrie and her nephew Jim Pierce, also of Albuquerque, N.M.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made in Marabeth’s name and directed to the Kossuth Animal Rescue Family or the Whittemore Public Library. The Lentz Funeral Home in Algona is serving the family. Condolences may be left at www.lentzfuneralhome.com