Albert Oster

Albert passed away on Thursday, July 7th in Centralia, Washington. Albert was second oldest in a family of 11 brothers and sisters.  Born in 1924, he was raised on a farm in North Dakota.  He remembered hard work and hard times as a young boy.  His father decided to move the family out west and from the age of 10 years old Albert lived in or near Centralia.  He graduated from Centralia High School in 1942 and went to work in the shipyards in Tacoma in support of the war effort.  When that work became unbearable, he quit and made himself available for the draft.  He entered the Army and eventually served as a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne and fought in the European theater.  He was impacted his whole life by living through the depression and World War II and often spoke of those experiences.

He married Betty Anne Stablein and had three girls: Carol Marie (Quaintance), Sherryl Anne (Wallace), and Jennifer Kaye (Harrison).  He later divorced and never remarried.  Late in life he found great comfort in the companionship he shared with his good friend Ilene.  He made a career with the railroad and retired as a conductor.  Over the years he had a number of hobbies.  He liked tinkering with cars, tractors, and motorcycles.  He enjoyed researching his family tree.  His favorite accomplishment was that he acquired his private pilot’s license at the age of 65.  He owned 2 airplanes for a number of years and loved to fly while he was able.  In recent years he especially enjoyed breakfast or lunch out at his favorite restaurants and watching movies on his high-def TV.

Albert was preceded in death by his parents John and Christina, his daughter Sherry, four of his siblings, and his friend Ilene.  He is survived by daughters Carol Quaintance and Jennifer Harrison, 6 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.  

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