Helen L. Ostmeyer, 101, of Oakley, died Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at
the Logan County Hospital, in Oakley, leaving a legacy of love and
kindness behind her. She was born to John and Clara (Lockard) Rhea in
rural Saline County, KS on January 31, 1921, the second of six children.
The family moved to Northwest Kansas in the early 1930s. Helen told
many stories of the dust storms of those years and how her family and
others survived. She attended country schools, then Oakley High School,
graduating in 1938. She then attended business school in Salina during
the WWII years. She fondly told stories of attending USO dances, in
particular one where she wore her favorite red dress and danced every
dance! When she returned to Oakley she worked as a bank teller at
Farmers State Bank.
Helen married James Ostmeyer on May 11, 1947. The couple had two sons
and three daughters. After her fifth child Helen would recall hearing a
visiting family member say, “another red head”, as they all inherited
their father’s hair color. Helen was a wonderful mother who enjoyed
working and staying busy. She particularly enjoyed working for the City
of Oakley as a billing clerk. She said she had the best coworkers, and
it was so nice to interact with the people of Oakley. Helen truly just
enjoyed people.
After retirement, Helen and Jim enjoyed travelling, visiting family all
across the United States, and wintering in Arizona. They took a cruise
out of Florida to the Bahamas, saw Niagara Falls in New Yok and Phantom
of the Opera in Toronto. After the death of her husband in 1995, Helen
continued to travel with her family. Some of her favorite places were
Branson and Las Vegas, where the family went to celebrate her 90th
birthday. She proudly wore a sash that read “Birthday Girl” and was
thrilled as complete strangers wished her a happy birthday and marveled
that she didn’t look her age, which she never got too old to hear.
Helen was addicted to coffee. She started every day with it and liked it
black and hot. She had many hobbies. She taught herself to crochet,
creating many beautiful doilies and doll clothes. She also learned to
quilt and had a quilting rack built in her basement where she and her
sister Mildred would create beautiful bedspreads and wall hangings. In
her nineties she decided she wanted to play the piano better, so she
started piano lessons. Helen was always open to learning new things. One
of her favorite pastimes was playing cards. She enjoyed playing at the
Country Club and always had a deck of cards in her suitcase, so whoever
she visited had card playing on the agenda. Helen was a wonderful human
being with an innate kindness to her. Her favorite saying to her family
was “I love you a bushel and a peck” and that sentiment was returned to
her a million-fold.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents; husband Jim; son John;
brother Merrill Rhea; sisters, Dorothy Davis, Virginia Read and Hazel
Daniels and sisters-in-law, Toni Whitson, Rose Teeter and Betty Keller.
She is survived by her son Dennis J. Ostmeyer, of Tucson, AZ; daughters,
Jane (Charles) Wieland, Oakley, Sue (Gary) Kretschmer, Westminster, CO
and Rita Chine, Delaware, OH; sister Mildred Gilkerson, Oakley;
sister-in-law Anna Belle Ostmeyer, Hoxie; daughter-in-law Diane
Ostmeyer, Levant, ME; eight grandchildren, Anna (Phil) Randall, Levant,
ME, Chad Kretschmer, Westminster, CO, Todd (Jaime) Kretschmer, Arvada,
CO, Adam (Rachel) Ostmeyer, Marana, AZ, Phoebe Ostmeyer, Tucson, AZ,
Danielle (Anthony) Chiarappa, Plain City, OH and Nicole (JB) Sillaman,
Delaware, OH; step grandson Chandler (Lisa) Wieland, Great Bend, KS; ten
great-grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.
Visitation will start at 9:30 a.m., with a memorial service at 10:30
a.m., Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Baalmann Mortuary, Oakley. Burial
will take place in St. Joseph Cemetery Oakley. Memorials may be made to
St. Joseph Church or Logan County Hospital and sent in care of Baalmann
Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701.
For information or condolences, visit www.baalmannmortuary.com.