Barbara Ann Ogaard

Barbara, aged 84, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on February 8, 2023, in Seattle, WA.

A celebration of Barb's life will be held at 11:00am on April 15, 2023, at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA, reception to follow at the church. All family and friends are welcome to attend. Ashes will be interred at the church later that day in a private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church.

Barb was born in Cokato, MN in 1938, to Wilfred "Gus" and Myrtle Wenlund. In high school, Barb met Richard "Dick" Ogaard, the love of her life. From the time they became sweethearts, when Barb was in ninth grade, they never parted - a relationship of 70 years. They were married in March 1958, and were only a month short of their 65th anniversary when she passed.

Barb attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN. She left college to start a family with Dick and they had two sons, Ryan and Robin. The family eventually moved to Anoka, MN where Barb and Dick lived until 2005, when they moved to Seattle to be closer to their sons' families.

Barb was a binding force in the extended family that included the families of her sisters Janice and Nancy. Holidays and life events were always celebrated with gatherings, Scandinavian food, and good humor. She had high expectations of her sons and closely supported them from kindergarten through college - never missing school or athletic events (despite having little interest in sports personally).

Barb was a career woman at a time when this was relatively rare. She began as a bookkeeper at 1st National Bank of Anoka, MN, was eventually promoted to Administrative Assistant to the President, and finally became an Assistant Vice President and the first female Commercial Loan Officer in the bank. Her business activities made her well known and respected among local businesses, and she contributed to the community through work on the Chamber of Commerce, District Legal Ethics Committee, School-to-Work Task Force, Alexandra House and others. Barb was also a very active member of Zion Lutheran Church in Anoka where she was Treasurer, a member of the Church Foundation, and in the choir for many years.

A seamstress from childhood, she went from literally making clothes from flour sacks in the post-Depression years, to making beautiful high fashion pieces. She was an avid crafter, with interests ranging from knitting and rug hooking to jewelry making and card stamping. Her sense of taste and style made her an unofficial interior decorator for friends and family, and her home always received high compliments from neighbors and guests. She had a network of close friends, many of whom she had known for decades, from Bridge clubs, the PEO organization, and her crafting interests.

Barb is survived by her husband Richard "Dick" Ogaard, sons Ryan (Wendy) and Robin (Carolyn Blair), grandchildren Brett and Annelise, and her sister Nancy Tank and her husband Al.

She was preceded in death by parents Gus and Myrtle Wenlund, and sister Janice Weir and her husband Bob.