Myrtle Osnes

Funeral services for Myrtle Osnes were held on Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Burke, SD, with Reverend Thaniel Certa-Werner officiating.

Music was provided by Darrel and Charli Fickbohm, and Logan Stokes.

Casket bearers were Maddie Eklund, Jackson Eklund, Jhett Eklund, Slade Webster, Edward Gallant, Brett Talsma, Marissa Meiners, Taylor Meiners, Jennifer Potts, Jason Potts, Jessica Bergeleen, Harlan Bergeleen, Jacqui Thiesse, Jacob Thiesse, Jocelyn Stokes, and Logan Stokes.

Honorary casket bearers were the staff and residents at Silver Threads and Fred Schwartz.

Dulce Frank was in charge of registration, and Teresa Webster was in charge of flowers.

Interment was in the Graceland Cemetery in Burke, SD. Clausen Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Myrtle Catherine Risewick was born on July 10, 1922 in a home outside Burke, SD. As a sign that she would be a force of nature, a tornado had ravaged the area that evening and obscured the precise time of her birth around midnight. Her parents, Robert and Minnie, were hardworking people of the land, so Myrtle grew up in the country with her three sisters doing the things that country kids did. Before her 99th birthday, she wrote a book of stories about her life. Myrtle attended Happy Hollow Country School until she started Burke High School in 1936 where she graduated as class valedictorian in 1940. She worked at the local abstract company in her junior year of high school, and continued working there after graduation until she moved to live with her sister, Hazel, in Bakersfield, CA. When World War II started, Myrtle and three women friends from South Dakota worked as Rosie the Riveters at Cal Shipyard where Myrtle was an electrician, stringing the lights on the Liberty and Victory ships.

After the war, Myrtle worked for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph, first as an operator and eventually as a supervisor. In 1965, she and a close friend moved to Salem, OR, where she continued working for the phone company until her retirement in 1984. It was there that Myrtle purchased a 1960 Falcon pickup, that she owned until her death.

On December 30, 1994, at the age of 72, Myrtle became a wife, mother, and grandmother when she and Bud married and she moved to the Osnes Ranch outside Burke. She lived there until Bud’s failing health necessitated a move to Silver Threads Assisting Living late in 2012. After his death in 2013, Myrtle lived in an apartment in Burke until her failing eyesight required her to have more care. She then returned to Silver Threads, where she was the oldest resident and had lived there longer than anyone else. She passed away on October 14, 2024, after a brief hospitalization at the Burke Hospital.

Myrtle was the epitome of a kind, intelligent, independent, gracious, diplomatic woman who was known for the sparkle in her eye and her mischievous air. She loved socializing; telling Ole and Lena jokes; having mudslides at Rumors in Dallas, SD, on special occasions; watching and listening to the wrens on visits to the farm; wearing fashionista shoes and sparkly clothes; listening to audiobooks; and watching her beloved Twins play baseball. A highlight of Myrtle’s life was attending a Twins game at Target Field in Minneapolis at the age of almost 101 years with 16 friends and relatives, and being honored by 22,000 fans chanting her name as she appeared on the big screen. She was thrilled to serve as Marshal of Burke’s Dog Days Parade in August, 2024.

Survivors include Myrtle’s daughter Pamela, of Burke, SD; son John (Joni) of Black Hawk, SD; five grandchildren: Jennifer (Jason) Potts, Rapid City, SD; Jessica (Harlan) Bergeleen, of Black Hawk, SD; Jacqui (Jake) Thiesse, of Billings, MT; Jocelyn Stokes, Shepherdstown, WV; Logan Stokes, Sandia Park, NM; five great-grandchildren; nieces: Arlene (Les) Keever, of Burke, SD, Shirley (Lyle) Moerike, Gregory SD, Delores (Darrell) Hanson, Rapid City, SD, Jan (Tom) Endes, of Winner, SD, Linda (Gary) Bower, of Holdredge, NE, Anita (Mike) Neitzel, of Tyndall, SD; Dale (Regina) Woods, Cabot, AR; Don (Annette) Talsma, Fredericksburg, VA; a host of great-nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews; her “second daughter,” Marty Watson, St. Paul, MN; and countless friends made across her 102 years of a life well-lived.

Myrtle was preceded in death by husband John; parents Robert and Minnie Risewick; sisters Lavina Wilson, Hazel Talsma, and Peg Woods Koppelman; and nieces and nephews Irene Grommesh, Karen Schrader, Norman Talsma, David Talsma, and Susan Brozik.