Delmer Ostrem

Delmer Orland Ostrem

was born on April 10,

1930, in Rugby, North

Dakota, and died June 22,

2021, at the Heart of

America Medical Center

in Rugby at the age of 91.

He was the third of five

children born to Carsten

and Alvilda (Erickson) Os-

trem. He attended Sand

Country School through

fourth grade, then attend-

ed Lincoln #2 Country

School through the eighth

grade. He graduated from

Rugby High School in

1948, where he played

football and basketball.

He also was the catcher

for the Junior League

baseball team. He first

met his future wife, Mar-

lys Harmel, in elementary

school, where they be-

came good friends. He

asked her to marry him on

her high school gradua-

tion day, and they were

married at Bethel Luth-

eran Church on July 8,

1950. They began their

life together working for

Lloyd and Viola Blessum

on their farm west of Rug-

by. During that time Del-

mer served in the North

Dakota National Guard. In

1956 Delmer and Marlys

moved to the Sivert Hjelle

farm south of town, where

Delmer had once lived as

a boy. In 1969 they pur-

chased a farm eight miles

south of Rugby, where

they lived until they

moved into Rugby in

1997. Delmer loved farm-

ing and enjoyed running

the combine up to the age

of 90.

In addition to farming,

Delmer drove a school

bus and sports bus for

twelve years. He sold

Behlen buildings for a few

years and worked as a

federal crop adjuster with

the ASCS office. As a

young man he was named

the Jaycees Outstanding

Young Farmer, and Del-

mer and Marlys were

selected as the 1971 Pi-

erce County Farm Family

of the Year. Delmer was

an active member of the

community and served on

several boards: Farmers

Union Oil Company,

Farmers Union Elevator,

ASCS, Heart of America

Human Services, Persilla

Watts Cemetery, Pioneer

Village Museum, Heart of

America Concert Series,

ND State ARC, and Bre-

mer Bank. He served two

three-year terms on the

First Lutheran Church

Council, where he and

Marlys were members for

over 70 years. Delmer

demonstrated through his

actions the importance of

caring for your family, be-

ing a good friend and

neighbor, serving your

church and community,

working hard, and being a

steward of the land.

Delmer is survived by

his wife of 70 years, Mar-

lys Ostrem; eight chil-

dren: Karlene (Tom)

Hatleli, St. Charles, MN;

Keith Ostrem, Rugby; Tim

(Sheila) Ostrem, Rugby;

Melinda (Rob) Lubben, St.

Croix Falls, WI; Cheryl

(Kevin) Hanson, East

Grand Forks, MN; Rick

(Lynne) Ostrem, Rugby;

Lori (Dan) Kellerd, Mel-

bourne, Australia; and Jill

(Nolyn) Fueller, Rugby; 18

grandchildren: Ryan (Ali-

sha) Hatleli, Jay (Sara)

Hatleli, Sara (Ben) Daley,

Carrie Ostrem, Dale Os-

trem, Nick (Kristen) Nel-

son, Natalie (Dustin)

Johnson, Justin (Erica)

Nelson, Erin (Joshua)

Gardner, Allison (Gra-

ham) Gmach, Tanner

(Leah) Hanson, Tasha

(Garrett) Lind, Dianne

Folden, David Folden,

Michael (Jessalyn) Os-

trem, Chantal Kellerd,

Adam Kellerd, and Aliah

Fueller; and 26

great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in

death by his parents, his

father-in-law and

mother-in law Henry and

Selma Harmel, and his si-

blings Harless Ostrem,

Carroll (Bud) Ostrem,

Vivian Affeldt, and Wal-

den (Spud) Ostrem.

Funeral services will be

held at 11:00 a.m. on Fri-

day, July 2, at First Luth-

eran Church in Rugby

with Pastor Sharon Baker

officiating. Burial will be

in the Persilla Watts

Cemetery, Rugby, follow-ing the service. All friends

and family are welcome to

attend. The funeral will

also be livestreamed and

to view the livestream

please click on the link

under his obituary on our

website www.funeralsby

anderson.com

Visitation will be held

Thursday, July 1, from

5:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a

prayer service beginning

at 7:00 p.m. at the Ander-

son Funeral Home in Rug-

by.

Arrangements with the

Anderson Funeral Home

of Rugby. Online registry:

www.funeralsby

anderson.com