Nancy Joan Osland
Nancy Joan Osland, age 79, passed away January 13, 2023, at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, North Dakota. Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at English Lutheran Church in Walnut Grove. Visitation will be held at English Lutheran Church from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 16, with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue for one hour prior to the service on Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in her name to the Alzheimer’s Association or Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, MN. Online condolences may be sent at www.stephensfuneralservice.com
Nancy was born January 19, 1943, in Walnut Grove, MN to Clarence and Bernice (Lidenberg) Danielowski. Nancy’s mother remarried after Clarence died in 1944 fighting in World War II, and Nancy knew Frederick “Fritz” Hanebuth as “Daddy.” She graduated from Walnut Grove High School in 1961 and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Southwest State University in Marshall, MN in 1987. Nancy was baptized on May 2, 1943, at the Walnut Grove Congregational Church and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church. Her faith continued to be important throughout her life. Nancy married the love of her life, Virgel Osland, on November 18, 1961. They farmed together in Walnut Grove for twenty years before she began her teaching career. Together, they raised three sons. Nancy and Virgel built their retirement home and retired to their beloved Lake Buchanan in Otter Tail County, MN in 2007. Nancy was passionate about education and made a positive difference in the lives of countless students at Parkside Elementary in Marshall, MN where she taught for 19 years. She also loved music and was a gifted musician, serving as the church pianist and organist from a young age at Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Olaf Lutheran Church, English Lutheran Church in Walnut Grove, and at Zion Lutheran Church in Amor, MN, during her retirement. Nancy had a green thumb and created magnificent gardens at the lake. She also enjoyed photography and left a legacy of captured life moments through thousands of pictures. Nancy was very proud of her three boys and was a loving and devoted mother. More than anything, Nancy cherished her family and relished time with her grandchildren. She shared her love for books with them and faithfully attended athletic events of all kinds, music recitals, choir concerts, plays, and musicals, always with camera in hand.
Nancy is survived by three sons and their families: Jon (Doreen) of Walnut Grove and their children: Danielle (Ben) Gundermann, and Hailey (Derek) Gritmacker; son Jim (Holly) of Hawley, and their children: Austin, Lydia (fiancé Jack Anderson), and Kaden; and son Jeff (Stacey) of Battle Lake, and their children: Matthew, Eli, and Sawyer; two great-grandchildren, Owen Gundermann and Palmer Gritmacker; brothers: Chuck (Cynthia) Hanebuth of Mendota Heights, and Pete (Diane) Hanebuth of Little Falls; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Virgel in 2009, and brother Gary in 2004.
