Lois Lavonne Osteen

Lois Lavonne Osteen passed away on Oct. 6, 2017 in the Libby Care Center at the age of 89. She was born on Sept. 24, 1928, in a little cabin at the end of Sophie Lake. The daughter of Orville and Harriet Johnson, she was the youngest of nine children. She grew up in Eureka and graduated from Lincoln County High School as the valedictorian of her class.

Her first job was as an assistant bookkeeper at Bell’s Inc., in Kalispell, where she worked for four years. She recalled that her boss taught her everything she needed to know about bookkeeping. She then moved to Plains, where she worked as a bank teller and bookkeeper, and where she met Narven Osteen; they were married on May 3, 1953. From this union were born her children, Mark and Nancy.

After moving to Libby in 1953, she worked at the First National Bank for 23 years, 15 of them as head bookkeeper. She then accepted a position at Champion, where she worked for 17 years, before taking a temporary retirement. From 1995 to 2013 she was fiscal manager at Families in Partnership.

Mrs. Osteen was a community leader. She was very active in organizations such as the Band Parents Association when her children were in school. She also served on the boards of the Kootenai Valley Credit Union and Recovery Northwest, and was president of the Women’s Golf Association. For 10 years she held the office of treasurer of the Combined Campaign, and was also president (for three years) and treasurer (for 10 years) of the Hospital Auxiliary. In 1994 Lois Osteen was named Citizen of the Year by the Libby Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Osteen was also an avid and faithful supporter of the Libby Loggers. She volunteered in Logger sports activities and could be seen at virtually every athletic event — whether it was basketball, volleyball, football, softball or American Legion baseball — for many, many years.

Her faith in God was a vital part of her life. Mrs. Osteen believed in living for God, and felt that Christians must not merely talk the talk; they must also walk the walk. She practiced her faith as a longtime leader of the Libby Church of God, where for several decades she taught Sunday school, directed the choir and served as treasurer.

She was preceded in death by her parents and all her siblings.

She is survived by her son, Mark, a professor of English and director of the Center for the Humanities at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland; by her daughter, Nancy Matter, a Behavioral Specialist at the Libby High Altacare Program; by her daughter-in-law, Leslie Gilden of Baltimore; by her son-in-law Herbert “Hib” Matter of Libby; and by a grandson, Cameron Osteen, of Hagerstown, Maryland. She was also much beloved by a host of surviving nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 at the Schnackenberg & Nelson Funeral Home in Libby. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Assembly of God Church, followed by a reception at the Church of God.

Those wishing to donate in Mrs. Osteen’s name are asked to send those donations to the Libby Church of God or to the Logger Booster Club.

Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.schnackenbergfh.com.