Obituary of Lloyd Ostrom

Our dad was born in Duluth, MN on March 25, 1927. He moved to Cambridge in 1944 and graduated from high school early to enlist in the U.S. Navy where he was stationed on aircraft carriers, maintaining jets, and served from 1944 until 1953. Dad met our mom while he was in the Navy, stationed on the east coast. They were married in 1949. Dad and mom moved to Minnesota and had four children: Larry, Barb, Kenny and Tammy (that would be us). Dad worked in the Minneapolis Post Office until transferring to the Cambridge Post Office in 1962 when Cambridge became our home. In his youth, he was a Boy Scout, he was active in sports, including ski jumping, cross country skiing, and playing on the Cambridge Blue Jackets football team. Later in life, he enjoyed playing softball, and eventually became a manager of a state championship team. He was also an official softball umpire, licensed by the state of Minnesota. He enjoyed curling, but as the years went on, bowling became his passion and he continued to play on the senior league even with limited vision. Throughout his life, he had various other hobbies including woodworking, leather tooling, hook rugs (go figure), Cryptoquip and crossword puzzles. Our dad inherited a love of preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, and watching the miracle of growth. In the late 60s, he followed in his father's footsteps and ran Ostrom's Greenhouse. Every year, he would look forward to February, when he could turn the heat on in the greenhouse, sterilize the soil and begin planting seeds in eager anticipation of spring. Once the greenhouse was open, dad started the tradition of giving free "Touch Me Nots" to all the children. The greenhouse remained open until 2008, run by the Ostrom kids, and finally closed the doors after being in business for 50 years. The folks at the Cambridge American Legion became close, lifetime friends. He took pride in being a long time member of the Color Guard, participating in many parades, funerals and other civil ceremonies. Our dad was known for being a good friend. His tenderness was evident in his love of babies, children and animals. He will be remembered for his honesty, integrity, along with his sense of humor and love of practical jokes. He is preceded in death by his wife Bert and his sister Carol Jeffries. He is survived by his children: Larry and Vicki Ostrom, Barb and Eben Gillespie, Kenny and Doreen Ostrom and Tammy and Rick Forslund; his grandchildren: Erik Ostrom, Bjork and Lindsay Ostrom, Jesse and Dana Gillespie, Ben and Jessi Gillespie, Timery and Jo-Jo Spencer, Uriah, Jordan, Sam and Aubrey Gillespie, Tye Ostrom, Kendra and Ryan Findell, Danica Forslund, Dane Forslund and Jeremiah Martin; and the "great eight": Iilen and Phin Gillespie, Tiandra, Zeke and Trena Gillespie, Samaria and June Spencer, Nadine Findell and one in the oven; his brother: Glen and wife Marlene Ostrom, his sister Janice and husband Fred Tunell and his brother-in-law Lyle Jeffries; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. We would like to acknowledge special friend Emery "my best buddy and chauffer that a man could ever have" Sumption, and loyal and caring friend, Maggie Treichel. We would also like to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to GracePointe staff for going above and beyond in the love and care of our dad and our family until he went home on Sunday, February 27, 2011.