Russell E. Osnes

Russell Osnes, age 80, of Forest City, died Monday, November 20, 2006 at his home in Forest City. Funeral service will be Friday, November 24 at 10:00 AM at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City with Pastor Lee Laaveg officiating. Burial will be at 3:00 PM on Friday, November 24 at Beaver Creek Lutheran Cemetery in rural Joice, IA. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 PM Thursday, November 23 at Immanuel Lutheran Church and continue at the church an hour prior to service on Friday.



Russell Ellsworth Osnes was born October 6th, 1926, on a farm in Hancock County, Iowa, to John and Barbara (Pederson) Osnes. He grew up in a family of eight children and with many close relatives, some living with the family and others living a few miles away. He enjoyed the happy times of family gatherings and reunions, which often included homemade ice cream in the summertime and games with cousins.





He was baptized as an infant and later confirmed in Ellington Prairie Lutheran Church east of Miller, Iowa. As a boy, he enjoyed trapping fur-bearing animals, hunting, and fishing. The family moved to larger farms in Hancock and Winnebago Counties, eventually settling in Forest City, Iowa. In high school, Russ played basketball and baseball, and enjoyed riding his motorcycle.





Russ received his education in the Ventura schools but during his 6-8th grades he attended Ellington #7 Country School where his sister, Arlet, taught him. He graduated from Ventura High School, Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa; Luther College in Decorah, Iowa; and received his Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.





On May 16th, 1953, he married O. Ardelle Osnes of Fertile, Iowa, a graduate of Kahler School of Nursing, Rochester, MN and the only daughter of Thomas and Alvina (Tweed) Brosdahl.





In 1955, he was ordained as a Lutheran minister at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City, Iowa. As a pastor, he served the parishes of Trinity Lutheran in Hawthorne, California; the two-point parish of Bethany and St. Paul Lutheran in Ephraim and Juddville, Wisconsin (Door County); and Ascension Lutheran in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1960, he answered a call to establish a Home Mission church, Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Citrus Heights, California (Sacramento area).





After serving parishes for 16 years, Russ pursued a Masterís degree in Counseling from the University of California-Sacramento. He then was awarded his Ph.D. in Psychology from the International University of Los Angeles, California. He also trained as a Psychotherapist in Transactional Analysis (TA) for seven years. Russ established the Institute for Transactional Analysis in Sacramento. They moved to the Midwest, to Forest City for two years then to Prior Lake, Minnesota for 28 years. Russ became the Founder and President of the Minnesota Midwest Transactional Analysis Institute in Minneapolis, where he counseled patients and also trained other counselors. He was a teaching member of the International and United States Transactional Analysis Associations. He served as an adjunct faculty member of several colleges and universities in the fields of Psychology and Education. He was a licensed marriage and family therapist, a trainer of trainers in TA theory and practice, a business consultant, public speaker, seminar leader, and workshop specialist. Russ also served as Interim Pastor and part-time Counseling Pastor at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake for a few years. He has written articles that have been published in papers, magazines and books. He co-authored the book, ìLife is a Celebrationî.





Wherever he has been he has served: the Luther League at Immanuel in Forest City; Waldorf and Luther College small groups; Lions Clubs in Wisconsin, California and Iowa; the Sons of Norway in Minnesota and Iowa; a delegate to International and District Lutheran Conventions as a youth and as a Pastor; he was the First Chairperson of the 26 churches in the Northern California District; Spiritual Director of Cursillo; at Heritage Park in Forest City he served on the Board and as Special Events Pastor, initially meeting for services in the barn loft, then at Beaver Creek Community Church after it was moved to the Park. He also participated in the North Iowa Travelers Chapter ñ Winnebago International Travelers (NIT-WITS) and the senior citizens group the Kum-Along-Club.





Russ enjoyed sports of all kinds, which continued into the lives of his children as a coach or ardent fan. He loved to watch sunsets, ìfigure things outî, collect ìusefulî items because he ìmight use it somedayî, and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate life in every way he could. He loved to whistle and sing, and with this gift, sang solos, participated in quartets, choirs, choruses, and theater productions in schools, churches and community events. Among his favorite songs were ìGreat and Marvelousî, ìJesus Loves Meî, ìHow Great Thou Artî, ìBeautiful Saviorî, and ìThis is My Fatherís Worldî. Family was always very important to him and he especially looked forward to gatherings and reunions when everyone could be together.





Russ is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ardelle; his four children, Dr. Russell N. Osnes of Eagan, MN, Laurel Laudert of Bigfork, MN, Lizabeth and Scott Erie of Pinewood Springs, CO, and Jeffrey and Carol Osnes of Minneapolis, MN; grandchildren, Jason and Emily Osnes of Apple Valley, MN, and Laura Osnes of Eagan, MN; and honorary son, Ismaila Juta of Des Moines, IA by way of Nigeria. He is also survived by two sisters, Arlet Vollers of Citrus Heights, California, and Barbara (B.J.) and Warren Overlie of rural Decorah, Iowa, one brother, John and Bonnie Osnes of Forest City, two sisters-in-law, Vera Osnes of Covina, CA. and Marty Osnes of Forest City, and one brother-in-law, Clifford Johnson of Littleton, Colorado. Numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, double cousins and friends.





Preceding him in death were his parents, John and Barbara Osnes, three brothers, Virgil, Thelan, and Paul, one sister, Janice Johnson, and one son-in-law, Michael Laudert.