12/1/1936 – 11/4/2015
Marj Ostransky was born to the late Frank and Delores Cramer, December 1, 1936 in Valentine, Nebraska. Marj graduated from Valentine High School in 1955 and received a BA in Teaching from St. Mary’s College in Omaha, NE in 1959. She married Martin Ostransky on August 20, 1960. They lived several places before settling in Gretna, Nebraska in 1972.
Marj was a High School Home Economics Teacher and then a Middle School Math and Science Teacher for over 30 years until she retired in 2004.
Marj was an active member of the St. Patricks Catholic Church of Gretna and loved singing in the choir. She also loved to travel and created beautiful quilts.
Marj is survived by her husband Martin and a sister, Eileen Heelan of Olympia, WA; four children: Marty and Krista Ostransky of Cody Nebraska, Marcia and Tim Christensen of Omaha Nebraska, Marie and Dan Becker of Gretna Nebraska, Mike Ostransky of Omaha, Nebraska. She also is survived by seven grandchildren: Taylor and Taryn Ostransky, Josh and Elizabeth Christensen, Matt and Jessica Becker and Nick Ostransky.
Marj was a wife, mom, sister, cousin, aunt and much, much more. She was a teacher and was dedicated to the success of her students. She was the Jr Class sponsor and organized JR/SR Prom. She was creative. Not only did she knit, crochet, quilt and sew, she made and decorated wedding cakes for several family weddings. She taught others these arts as well. Many of her students have remarked that she was their favorite teacher and they wouldn’t be [teaching, knitting, sewing, decorating cakes] today if she hadn’t been such a great teacher.
She will be missed by many.
She loved antiques and spent time restoring many beautiful pieces.
She held down the fort when Dad traveled for work.
She was a gardener, and helped grandpa raise chickens, geese, and turkeys. We had horses and all us kids were active in 4H. Marj and Marcia went to many a horse show together, with the truck, camper, and 4 horse trailer. She was always there to help change horses and outfits in between events, often with little time to spare.
When Marcia moved back to Nebraska in 1988 she talked Marj into coming to a quilt guild meeting. Marj was hooked. Marj in turn got her mother Delores into quilting – 3 generations, just not starting in the usual way. Marj and Marcia often went to quilt meetings, retreats and events together. Marj’s sister Eileen is also a quilter, so they would meet up yearly for a week of quilting and visiting. She also had many other dear quilting friends. She was very active in the Nebraska State Quilters Guild and helped them raise money to establish the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln.
She was a cook! Not only did she feed our family, Grandpa Ostransky joined us most nights for dinner. Not just us, but anyone else who happened to be working on a project on the farm when dinner time arrived. We often had several extras at our table. She would let everyone know in advance what time dinner would be ready, let them know when it was ready, and would still have it ready an hour later when they came in for dinner.
She was the chauffeur. Until we could drive, we all either went with Mom to school or took the bus. So we all went with Mom. I can still remember her struggles to get us teen agers up so she could make it to work on time.
She loved her grand kids. She enjoyed having them come out to the farm to play. She put together Easter ‘buckets’ every year and stockings and other gifts for Christmas. She went to football, soccer and volleyball games. She enjoyed their birthday parties, graduations, and church events.
She enjoyed traveling with Dad. They went on several big trips, Germany, Ireland, Alaska, Czechoslovakia, Mexico…?.
She was the mediator. She made sure we all got along and if we didn’t she made sure we apologized, forgave each other and moved on.
Visitation 5-7 PM Sunday w/ Rosary 7 PM at Roeder Mortuary – Gretna Chapel; Funeral Mass 10:00 AM Monday (11/9/2015) at St. Patrick Catholic Church 508 Angus St Gretna, NE, Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery at Gretna, NE. Memorials to St. Patrick Catholic Church of Gretna or to Alzheimer’s Association.
