Adele L. Ostrander

Adele L. Ostrander 1922 - 2008 PITTSFIELD Adele Laura Ostrander, 86, of 6231 Merle Place, Bren Mar Park, Alexandria, Va., died Friday, July 25, 2008, at Fairfax Hospital in Virginia. Born in Pittsfield on Jan. 8, 1922, a daughter of Fred Jean Cote and Marie Dina Pichette Cote, she attended local schools and was a 1940 graduate of St. Joseph Central High School. She attended both the former Berkshire Business College and Pittsfield Secretarial School. She began work at Read Shaw Insurance Agency where she stayed for several years.She was then employed as a secretary for General Electric Company. After GE, she was employed by H&R Block in Virginia for several years. Her most fulfilling job was the years she spent as an "Army Wife." While in Pittsfield, Mrs. Ostrander was a communicant of the former Notre Dame Church and was a member of its former Children of Mary. At the time of her death, she belonged to St. Michael's Church in Annandale, Va., where she did volunteer work for the CCD program and was responsible for the flower planting at their Shrine of Mary. An avid Baltimore Orioles fan, her favorite player was Cal Ripkin. She loved reading and sewing, and her many photo albums were always up to date. With gardening high on her list of favorite things to do, she frequently wrote a gardening column for the Bren Mar Community. Not to be outdone by the joy that visitors brought her when they came to admire her well-tended flower beds, be it adults or an entire Girl Scout troop, they rarely left without a potted plant to put in their own gardens. But the thing that was so special and the most meaningful to her was the love she had for each one of her girls. Her husband, Master Sgt. Harry "Bud" Ostrander, whom she married Feb. 4, 1950, died Sept. 9, 1983. She leaves four daughters, Joellyn Mary of Alexandria, Va., with whom she made her home, Elise Ann of Dublin of California; Lauri Elizabeth Klefos of Pittsfield, and Paula Jeanne and her husband, Gary Morris, of Huber Heights, Ohio; two sisters, Julie Beals and Therese Cote, and two brothers, George Cote and Alfred Cote, all of Pittsfield; five grandchildren, Andrew, Amanda, and Matthew Pickerel, all of Virginia, and Zachary and Cody Morris of Hubert Heights, Ohio, along with several nieces and nephews. Another daughter, Deena Katherine, died Aug. 20, 2004. She was also predeceased by two brothers, Oliver Cote and Abbie Cote, both of Pittsfield, and by two sisters, Eva Cote of Pittsfield and Cecile Cote Keyes Mix of West Stockbridge. FUNERAL NOTICE: The Funeral Mass for Adele Laura Cote Ostrander was celebrated Thursday, July 31, at St. Michael's Church in Annandale by the Rev. Pikorski. Interment will take place Sept. 25, 2008, at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C., where her husband is buried. In lieu of flowers, and in accordance with her wishes, donations may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 1800 "M" Street, N.W., Suite 750 South, Washington, D.C. 20036.