Victor Osten

Victor Osten, age 95, a resident of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, died Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at Pelican Valley Nursing Home in Pelican Rapids. Victor Allen Osten was born December 4, 1914, in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, the son of Martin Andreas (Andrew) Simon Osten and Thea Matilde (Hovland) Osten.He was born in the farm house built by his grandfather, Simon Osten, a first generation immigrant from Norway.He was the youngest of nine children born to Andrew and Thea.Victor was able to speak Norwegian and retained a strong Norwegian accent throughout his life.In fact, he was confirmed in Norwegian at West Immanuel Lutheran Church.He attended District 48 Grade School through the 8th grade.After that, he was needed to spend his days assisting his family with farm work.Even though he wasnt able to formally continue his education, he always had a love for learning.He would regularly read the local newspapers, Popular Science, and other magazines.On October 24, 1937, he was united in marriage to Alma Christine Johnson at Ringsaker Lutheran Church in Pelican Rapids.Alma and Victor celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with family and friends in 2007.They met during the threshing season in 1936.Alma and Victor were rarely seen apart from each other.Since the time of her passing in 2008, Victor regularly commented about how much he missed her.Besides Alma, the other love of Victors life was tractors.He loved everything about them.He was one of the founders of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.He owned many tractors throughout the years and took an active role in making the show a success every Labor Day weekend.In 1953, he was Champion Contour Plowman for the West Otter Tail Soil Conservation District.He also won the State Tractor Safety Contest held near Buffalo, Minnesota, and he won two second places at State Plowville held at the local Trosvig farm.Victor became the sole owner of the family farm in 1947.He remained on the farm until the summer of 2008 when he moved into Riverfront Manor in Pelican Rapids.While on the farm, he survived three tornadoes.He was an avid storyteller and often recounted the harrowing experiences of taking shelter in the cellar while the tornadoes blew over.After the last tornado hit in 1944, the family decided not to rebuild the barn that they had built after the other two tornadoes had destroyed the previous buildings.They were superstitious about another big storm blowing through.The Osten family farm was honored as a Minnesota Century Farm in 1972.Victor continued farming until he suffered a stroke in his early 40s.He then became an electrician.He repaired numerous refrigerators and air conditioning units during his career.Many local business owners were very thankful to see him drive up in his red van to perform services on their malfunctioning machines.Victor took great pride in his work and was an honest businessman.He worked until he was in his mid-80s.Victor had a love for music and regularly tuned in to watch Lawrence Welk and other musical TV programs.He played the piano, the fiddle, and the banjo.He enjoyed singing as a youth at the town hall and with his very musically talented family.Victor is survived by his son, Lyle (Bonnie) Osten, Callaway; his daughter, Virginia (Bob) Schmidt, Zumbrota; five grandchildren:Ilene Osten, Shelly (Matt) Dillon, Andrew (Debbie) Osten, Tanya (Dave) Rylee, and Nicole Halvorson; five-great-grandsons:Noah and Elijah Dillon, Simon and Murphy Osten, and Dylan Halvorson; one great-granddaughter, Medora Rylee; and nieces, nephews, other relatives and many great friends.He was preceded in death by his wife, Alma; parents, Martin and Thea; eight siblings: Clara Sillerud, Selma Bullis, Mabel Clauson, Olga Salley, Pearl Osten, Ole Osten, James Osten, and Elmer Osten; and granddaughter, Natalie Ann Osten Schmidt.Blessed Be The Memory Of Victor Osten