Donald Eugene "Gene" Ostermiller

Donald Eugene Ostermiller was born on Feb. 18, 1932. He departed this earth on April 12, 2024, at the age of 92.

Dad was born east of Billings out on the Huntley Project, the oldest child of George and Molly (Harmon) Ostermiller. In the next several years the family came to include two siblings: brother Lawrence and sister Dorothy. These were the pre-World War II Depression years and the family moved from the Huntley Project to the small town of Silesia, and then to the remote area far west of Billings where Central Avenue now ends.

It was during these years living far west of Billings that Dad acquired the name that he would forever be known as. In second grade at Baseline School, there happened to be four boys in the small class who all had the first name “Donald.” To simplify the situation, the teacher decided to give each of the four boys a name of her choosing — and our dad acquired the name “Gene.” From that second grade in the 1930s, Dad would forever be known as “Gene” to all who crossed his path.

He met our mom, Betty Irene Hardt, at a dance when they were each 16 years old, and they were married less than a week after they’d both turned 18. Together, they purchased a house in West Billings in 1954, raised a family of five kids in that same house, and that house remains in Dad’s ownership even today — 70 years later.

Our mom died on Jan. 13, 1997, and it was a tough transition for Dad. It took time, but he successfully discovered that he loved being a grandpa more than anything in life. He was able to spend countless hours and days watching grade school soccer matches, high school swim meets, high school volleyball matches and college track meets, where he was his granddaughter’s biggest fan.

Dad also rediscovered the passion for what he called “his hobbies.” As a child of the Great Depression, Dad had no place in his vocabulary for the word “Junk.” Dad collected everything — and he collected in proudly. If we, as his kids, had each received a dime for every time he told us “Don’t throw that away!”, we’d each be driving a new Mercedes.

Before his body began to wear out, Dad could spend hours, or even days, trudging through farmers’ fields along the Yellowstone River in search of his very own personal Holy Grail: the Montana Agate. He would haul agates home by the barrelful, go over each one of them individually (sorting them as he went), cutting and polishing the ones he was drawn to most and then (with the love of a master craftsman) turn them into a necklace or other work of art. It gave him pleasure beyond measure to be able to bestow one of his necklaces to a deserving lady — whether that lady be too young to walk or whether that lady be too old and frail to walk. It didn’t matter. If Dad felt that you were a genuinely deserving lady, he made every effort to see that you received an agate necklace. There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of his necklaces that have been gifted by him over the years.

But time is cruel, and the end has come. Dad’s body finally just wore out. For the past year, he had been a resident at The Springs at Grand Park here in Billings. To the staff of The Springs, our deepest gratitude for all you have done to make the past year as comfortable as humanly possible for our dad.

Our dad, Gene Ostermiller, is survived by his five kids: Debby Olds (Vern), Karen Neil (Mel), Vicki Hodgson (Jim), Ron Ostermiller and Dennis Ostermiller. Also surviving are two very special grandchildren: Samantha Hodgson (Paul Donaldson) and Zach Ostermiller (Kisha). Our dad is also survived by two ultra-special great-grandchildren: Paisley Donaldson (whom Dad absolutely adored and who has more agate necklaces than anyone on earth) and Grayson Ostermiller (who is 4 months old and was looking forward to meeting his Great-Grandpa Gene in June). Also a special shout-out to Lois Reid (Dad and Lois were partners in crime for quite a few years).

Otherwise, all of Dad’s immediate family has predeceased him. Spouse, siblings, parents and in-laws are all just memories now and hopefully they are all back together again.

If anyone feels so compelled, memorials can be sent in Dad’s name to Pilgrim Congregational Church, 409 S. 36th St., Billings, MT 59101, or to a charity of your choice.

There are no services planned for right now, but our family has been looking forward to a reunion in June … which will now include a celebration of Dad’s life.

I guess that’s about it, Dad. Rest in Eternal Peace. You had a pretty good run and, just so you know, I’m finally going to turn that thermostat down.

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