Esther Lauretta Osborne

eighty-eight year old sister, auntie, cousin, friend, registered nurse, cat fancier and health advocate passed away January 7, 2012. Esther Osborne was born July 20, 1923 in Upland, Indiana. She loved life, rode horseback in the wheat fields of North Dakota, cultivated her musical gifts in many church choirs, and developed her scientific skills in various educational venues and professional positions. After the death of her mother, Mabel Stafsberg Osborne, Jud, North Dakota, Esther lived with her aunts in North Dakota and Iowa, while her father was a minister. When she was eleven, Esther rejoined her father, the Rev. Basil Osborne and stepmother Sylvia Strom Osborne, a teacher in their North Dakota hometown. Three sisters were born to the family in which Esther loved and respected. After receiving her nursing training in Idaho in 1945, she accepted the call for Army nurses during the Second World War. She worked in Alaska with the United States Health Department for six years. Upon leaving Alaska, she returned to her home in Seattle. She worked twenty-years of clinical nursing with the Veterans Administration and worked for Boeing as a clinical nurse at various sites around Seattle. She was well respected and loved for her precision and memory of medical data. From the early 1970's she became a Siamese Cat breeder. She was proud of her Orientals and she enjoyed taking them to shows where they would win many ribbons. She was an avid member of Cat Fancy Association where she met many of her friends. Esther's lovely voice and gracious manner was known in the choir at First Covenant Church in Seattle, Washington where she worshipped and sang.Her three sisters are Vera Osborne Patten of Windsor, California, Polly Ann Osborne Naylor of Murrieta, California and Joy Osborne of Berkeley, California. They will miss her keen sense of humor, gift of music, and astute medical knowledge. There is a constellation of nieces, nephews and cousins that continue to honor Esther. She truly appreciated the support and love of all of her friends and helpful neighbors.A Celebration of Life will be held at the First Covenant Church of Seattle, 400 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122-3616 (206-322-7411) January 21, 2012 at 10 am and internment of ashes will be near her mother in North Dakota. Any memorial gifts honoring Esther Osborne may be sent to Seattle Union Gospel Mission or Wycliff Bible Translators.