Loren Ossenfort

LOREN FREDERICK OSSENFORT was born on October 20, 1938 to Albert and Anna (Meyer) Ossenfort on the farm near Boyden, Iowa. He was baptized in November that year at St. John’s Lutheran Church near Boyden. When Loren was young, the family moved to a farm near Leads, Iowa where he attended school through the eighth grade. In 1952, the family moved to Beaver Creek, Minnesota for a short time until settling near Luverne, Minnesota. He was confirmed on July 11, 1954 at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. Loren was born into a family of 15 children and known as “mom’s helper”. He helped tend the house and care for his younger siblings. Loren eventually moved into a small apartment in Luverne where he worked as a short order fry cook at Rock Caf and later the Lamberton Cafe. He moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where he worked as a cook at Chris’ Country Grill. He then met Grace Keener and on November 12, 1966 the couple was united in marriage at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. Following their union they continued to reside in Sioux Falls. They later moved to Watertown, South Dakota where he worked for a number of years as a lineman at the turkey factory until his retirement. In 2007, Loren and Grace became residents in Luverne. Loren died peacefully in his sleep on August 17, 2011 at Good Samaritan Society - Mary Jane Brown Home in Luverne at the age of 72 years, 9 months and 27 days.

Loren was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. He enjoyed embroidery, decorating their home, tending to flowers and cooking. He especially enjoyed listening to gospel music and going to concerts. He was proud of his recent entries into the Rock County Fair in which he received Grand Champion, Reserve Champion and Champion ribbons.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife of 44 years, Grace; siblings, Donald (Barb) of Rapid City, SD, Lois (Norm) Nath of Luverne, Carol (Virgil) Oltmans of Apple Valley, MN, Alice (Ron) Hansen of Hardwick, MN, Linda (Gene) Molden of St. Cloud, MN, Rodger (Dianne) of Luverne, Judy (Mike) Reis of Columbus, GA, Deb (Roger) Gehrke of Beaver Creek, Dennis (Diane) of Worthington, MN, Brenda (Keith) Staeffler of Valley Springs, SD, Kathy (Keith) Scholten of Valley Springs; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other family. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Marlene Lundgren; and two brothers, Larry “Ozzie” and David.