Jane Ostergaard

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We’ve created it to keep friends and family updated about our mom. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement during this time when it matters most. Thank you for taking the time to visit.


Mom was born on April 9, 1946, so she just celebrated her milestone 75th birthday; and later this month, she and dad will celebrate 48 years of marriage. Each of you uniquely know a different piece of her journey as a friend, colleague, neighbor or family member -- so we would love to hear your stories in the coming days and weeks. We know her as our mom -- someone who was always there for us in the tough times, but also as one that ensured there were abundant opportunities for memories and good times. She always put others above self, focusing her life mission on raising two independent minded women, supporting the family business, and serving the world through programs like Meals on Wheels for many years. 

She has had a rich and full life as a wife, sister, grandmother, aunt and friend, and enjoyed years of engagement at Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church, in the American Association of University Women (AAUW), multiple book groups and hiking clubs. In past years she and dad traveled widely in the US and even had some adventures that took them to Europe and around the world. She loved simple things like sleepovers with grandchildren, grandparent camp, family visits and neighborhood gatherings; and simply found joy in connecting with others wherever she went. 

Over the last 10+ years she has been living with diabetes; and several years ago, she was formally diagnosed with dementia / Alzheimer’s disease. The last year has been very isolating for her and our dad as they stayed home to stay healthy during the pandemic. In the last few months, she has been struggling a bit more with day-to-day activities, but was still living relatively independently at home with dad's support. Her story picks up in the posts below with an unanticipated increase in foot and leg pain that started in early June, but per the doctors’ assessments, has actually been developing over the last several months.