Myrtle's funeral service will be live streamed through the Abundance United Methodist Parish facebook page

Myrtle Catherine Risewick was born on either July 10 or 11, 1922 in a home outside Burke, South Dakota. As a sign that she would be a force of nature, a tornado had ravaged the area that evening and obscured the precise time of her birth around midnight.  A family friend suggested the tenth, so that became her official date of birth. Her parents, Robert and Minnie, were hardworking people of the land, so Myrtle grew up in the country with her three sisters doing the things that "country kids" did. Before her 99th birthday, she wrote a book of stories about her life.  She recounted memories about growing up on the farm, and doing ornery things with her sisters. Myrtle attended Happy Hollow country school until she started Burke High School in 1936 where she graduated as class valedictorian in 1940. She worked at the local abstract company in her junior year of high school, and continued working there after graduation until she moved to live with her sister, Hazel, in Bakersfield, CA. When World War II started, Myrtle and three women friends from South Dakota worked as Rosie the Riveters at Cal Shipyard where Myrtle was an electrician, stringing the lights on the Liberty and Victory ships.  She proudly recalled breaking the mold for women by wearing coveralls during her Rosie years, and being a feminist before the word existed.

After the war, Myrtle worked for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph, first as an operator and eventually as a supervisor.  In 1965, she and a close friend wearied of the "rat race" in California, and moved to Salem, Oregon, where she continued working for the phone company until her retirement in 1984. The women bought a home in the country where they tended a few poultry and had a vegetable garden.  It was there that Myrtle purchased her beloved "Lil Gussie," a 1960 Falcon pickup, that she owned until her death. Myrtle made annual trips back to South Dakota. It was during one of these trips that she went to supper with the brother of her good friend, Junice (Osnes) Herling.  It was a fortuitous meal, because in September, 1994, John "Bud" Osnes proposed marriage.  On December 30, 1994, at the age of 72, Myrtle became a wife, mother, and grandmother in one fell swoop when she and Bud married and she moved to the Osnes Ranch outside Burke. She lived there until Bud's failing health necessitated a move to Silver Threads Assisting Living late in 2012. It was then that Myrtle gave up her independence to be with Bud. After his death in 2013, Myrtle lived in an apartment in Burke until her failing eyesight required her to have more care.  She then returned to Silver Threads, where she was the oldest resident and had lived there longer than anyone else when death came to her on October 14, 2024 after a brief hospitalization at the Burke Hospital.

Myrtle was the epitome of a kind, intelligent, independent, gracious, diplomatic woman who was known for the sparkle in her eye and her mischievous air. She loved socializing; telling Ole and Lena jokes; having mudslides at Rumors in Dallas, SD, on special occasions; watching and listening to the wrens on visits to the farm; wearing fashionista shoes and sparkly clothes; listening to audiobooks; and watching her beloved Twins play baseball.  A highlight of Myrtle's life was attending a Twins game at Target Field in Minneapolis at the age of almost 101 years with 16 friends and relatives, and being honored by 22,000 fans chanting her name as she appeared on the big screen.  She was thrilled to serve as Marshall of Burke's Dog Days Parade in August, 2024, only two months prior to her death. Above all, Myrtle loved her family – her children, her grandkids and great-grandkids who called her "Big Grandma," and her nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and -nephews.

Survivors include Myrtle's daughter, Pamela, of Burke; son, John (Joni) Black Hawk; five grandchildren, Jennifer (Jason) Potts, Rapid City; Jessica (Harlan) Bergeleen, Black Hawk; Jacqui (Jake) Thiesse, Billings, MT; Jocelyn Stokes, Shepherdstown, WV; Logan Stokes, Sandia Park, NM; five great-grandchildren, Aurora and Kayde Potts, Gemma and Gwen Bergeleen, and Greta Thiesse; nieces, Arlene (Les) Keever, Burke, Shirley (Lyle) Moerike, Gregory, Delores (Darrell) Hanson, Rapid City, Jan (Tom) Endes, Winner, Linda (Gary) Bower, Holdredge, NE, Anita (Mike) Neitzel, Tyndall;  Dale (Regina) Woods, Cabot, AR; Don (Annette) Talsma, Fredericksburg, VA; a host of great-nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews; her "second daughter," Marty Watson, St. Paul, MN; and countless friends made across her 102 years of a life well-lived.

Myrtle was preceded in death by husband, John; parents, Robert and Minnie Risewick; sisters Lavina Wilson, Hazel Talsma, and Peg Woods Koppelman; and nieces and nephews Irene Grommesh, Karen Schrader, Norman Talsma, David Talsma, and Susan Brozik.

Funeral services for Myrtle Osnes, age 102, of Burke, SD will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 10:00 AM at the United Methodist Church in Burke, SD.  Burial will be in the Graceland Cemetery of Burke.  There will be a prayer service on Friday at 7:00 PM at the Church.  Visitation will 1 hour prior to both services at the Church.