Margaret Ann Ostheimer, formerly of Waterloo, died April 12, 1998, in Arvada, Colorado, at the age of 74. She was cremated. A private celebration of her life will be held in the Colorado Rockies.
She was born June 27, 1923, in Davenport, Iowa, to Rita Mae and Gust Olson, Jr. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa (ISTC) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education (1945), returning later to pursue her master's degree. She married Warren Richard Ostheimer in December 1945.
Peg was a prominent educator in the Waterloo Public School system where students and peers remember her enthusiasm and ability to make learning fun and challenging. Her daughters remember her compassion for family, friends, and students; her never-ending love and curiosity about animals and fish; and her efforts with the Association of Retarded Citizens. She was past president of PEO, Chapter KS, and a contributing author to Aquarium Magazine. She devoted her free time to sewing, gardening, reading, traveling within the United States and to foreign countries and skiing in the midwest and Colorado. Many of those interests included close friends and neighbors.
She is survived by her three daughters and their families, Linda and Jay Fangman, Emily Shaw and Michael Drees Fangman of Arvada, Colorado; Claudia and Philip Sherburne, Daniel Richard and Paul Stevensen Sherburne of Minnetonka, Minnesota; Amy and Richard (Chip) Melick and Hannah Quin Melick of Golden, Colorado. She is also survived by Elizabeth (Mrs. Gust) Olson Jr., and Elizabeth's children, Gust Olson, III and Christina Mae Olson. Julia Thorne (Mrs. Gene) and Noel Bender (Mrs. Craig) Mattison were her dear friends and survive her, as well.
Peg would be honored by memorial contributions sent to Colorado's Ocean Journey which is a public aquarium being built in Denver, Colorado. The address is 700 Water Street, Denver, Colorado 80211. She had donated part of her personal library to UNI and would encourage donations to the UNI Foundation (please specify Margaret A. Olson-Ostheimer fund), 205 Commons, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614.
The family requests that no flowers be sent but welcomes correspondence from her friends and colleagues, which can be sent to Amy Melick, 92 Paradise Road, Golden, Colorado 80401.
Copyright Waterloo Courier, April 26, 1998, p. C8.