Ralph Egil "Rolf" Osbakken

Ralph 'Rolf' Egil Osbakken died, surrounded by family, Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, at Memorial Medical Center, Ashland, Wis. He was born May 29, 1910, in Two Harbors to Einar Sigurd and Lena Kristina (Hansdatter) Osbakken, immigrants from Norland, Norway. Ralph graduated from Two Harbors High School in 1929, losing his first job with the railroad a few months later with the crash of 1929. He soon began playing semi-pro hockey in Seattle and fished halibut with his uncle Ingvald Hansen off the coast of Alaska. Returning to Two Harbors, he was blackballed by the railroad when he encouraged workers to talk with the 'wobblies', the Industrial Workers of the World, who were organizing at the gate. A stint at the University of Minnesota in architecture was followed by a two year draftsman's degree from Dunwoody Institute. He joined his relatives, the Holsts, in Milwaukee to look for work and met and married Anne Benderling in 1941. A career as a businessman took him to Decatur, Ill., where he worked as branch manager for a wholesale building supplies operation. Ralph formed and coached Decatur's first youth hockey team. His job took him to Roselle, Ill., where he retired. In 1976, Anne and Ralph built their dream home in Herbster, Wis., half-way between Two Harbors and Marshfield, Anne's home town. He was an inveterate woodsman, forced to quit harvesting firewood at 89 due to family fears for safety. He continued to harvest his beloved vegetable garden, turn wood and craft furniture for years to come. Anne and Ralph were active members of Sons of Norway, often volunteering for events such as the Barnebirkie. He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Anne, Feb. 2, 2008; his sisters, Gladys Miller, Olga Johnson and Dagmar; and brothers, John, Olaf and Leif. Ralph is survived by his daughters, Mary Dagmar (Lynn Holmes), Kristine Karen, Margaret Anne (Bill Pysson), and Patricia Louise; sons, Thomas Arthur (Eve) and Ralph Einar (Joan); grandchildren, Ian Houmas (Jolyn Schulte), Leif, Tommy (Leska), Erik (Shannon) and Stephanie Osbakken, Mary Anne and Michael Pysson, Alexandra and Samuel Augustine, and Laura Cheedie and Lisa Osbakken; great-grandchildren, Adonis, Calisto, Athena, Carly and Jamison Ava Bjorn; nieces, Marilyn (Bud) Ostlund, Louise Brummeyer, Jane (Joe) Presutto, and Barbara, John and Robert Werner; and cousins, Willis Einar (Sylvia), Sitka, Alaska, and Linda Hansen, Seattle, Wash. ECUMENICAL SERVICES:1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, in the Herbster Town Hall, Herbster, Wis., followed by a luncheon for family and friends. Visitation one hour prior to the services. Burial for Ann and Ralph at 4 p.m. Arrangements by Bratley Funeral Home, Washburn, Wis.
This obituary was originally published in the Duluth News Tribune.