Earl G Ostby was the third child born to Bernhard Imanuel and Edith Mary "Mamie" Monear Ostby. He lived with his older brothers Clarence and Bernard and younger sister Muriel on a farm in Iowa; after his parents' divorce, Muriel and Mamie went to live nearby, while the men stayed on the farm.
Earl moved to the Minneapolis area after he was grown and married his first cousin, Sarah Lucille Palma Genevieve Ostby, daughter of his uncle Otto Ostby. He and Lucille, as she preferred to be known, had one daughter, Estelle Lorraine; however, when Estelle was only 10 months old, Lucille died of peritonitis and hemorrhagic pneumonia. In the wake of her death, Earl apparently felt unable to care for his little daughter, and gave her over to his older brother Bernard and sister-in-law Alice to raise.
Earl remarried quickly. First he wedded the former Elsie Pikal in Wayne County, Indiana; the following year he married Florence Victoria Rasmussen (known as Florence Victoria Robertson after her father changed his name). Soon after, the couple relocated to the Los Angeles area. At some point this marriage dissolved too, and there are reports Earl got married for a final time to a woman named Peggy, though I've not been able to confirm this. At any rate, Earl did attempt to regain custody of his then 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Estelle in 1930, but the Minnesota courts sided with her uncle and aunt, who'd grown very fond of their adopted daughter, and Earl's bid failed.
Almost exactly a year later, on May 11, 1931, 24-year-old Earl visited the beach at the foot of Linden Avenue in Long Beach, California with some friends after a long work shift. According to his friends, while swimming in the Pacific, Earl slipped under the water. By the time his friends realized something was wrong, they couldn't find him in the water. Initial search efforts failed. One week later, his body was finally recovered, and sent home to St. Paul, where he was buried on May 28.
Earl's daughter Estelle grew up well-loved by her adoptive parents, but she never forgot her birth parents, though she had no memories of them. She remembered the stories told about their lives and saved them away to tell us. She might have forgotten some dates or places here and there, but she never forgot the substance of her parents' lives. Their early deaths marked their families forever.
Earl moved to the Minneapolis area after he was grown and married his first cousin, Sarah Lucille Palma Genevieve Ostby, daughter of his uncle Otto Ostby. He and Lucille, as she preferred to be known, had one daughter, Estelle Lorraine; however, when Estelle was only 10 months old, Lucille died of peritonitis and hemorrhagic pneumonia. In the wake of her death, Earl apparently felt unable to care for his little daughter, and gave her over to his older brother Bernard and sister-in-law Alice to raise.
Earl remarried quickly. First he wedded the former Elsie Pikal in Wayne County, Indiana; the following year he married Florence Victoria Rasmussen (known as Florence Victoria Robertson after her father changed his name). Soon after, the couple relocated to the Los Angeles area. At some point this marriage dissolved too, and there are reports Earl got married for a final time to a woman named Peggy, though I've not been able to confirm this. At any rate, Earl did attempt to regain custody of his then 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Estelle in 1930, but the Minnesota courts sided with her uncle and aunt, who'd grown very fond of their adopted daughter, and Earl's bid failed.
Almost exactly a year later, on May 11, 1931, 24-year-old Earl visited the beach at the foot of Linden Avenue in Long Beach, California with some friends after a long work shift. According to his friends, while swimming in the Pacific, Earl slipped under the water. By the time his friends realized something was wrong, they couldn't find him in the water. Initial search efforts failed. One week later, his body was finally recovered, and sent home to St. Paul, where he was buried on May 28.
Earl's daughter Estelle grew up well-loved by her adoptive parents, but she never forgot her birth parents, though she had no memories of them. She remembered the stories told about their lives and saved them away to tell us. She might have forgotten some dates or places here and there, but she never forgot the substance of her parents' lives. Their early deaths marked their families forever.
Earl G Ostby was the third child born to Bernhard Imanuel and Edith Mary "Mamie" Monear Ostby. He lived with his older brothers Clarence and Bernard and younger sister Muriel on a farm in Iowa; after his parents' divorce, Muriel and Mamie went to live nearby, while the men stayed on the farm.
Earl moved to the Minneapolis area after he was grown and married his first cousin, Sarah Lucille Palma Genevieve Ostby, daughter of his uncle Otto Ostby. He and Lucille, as she preferred to be known, had one daughter, Estelle Lorraine; however, when Estelle was only 10 months old, Lucille died of peritonitis and hemorrhagic pneumonia. In the wake of her death, Earl apparently felt unable to care for his little daughter, and gave her over to his older brother Bernard and sister-in-law Alice to raise.
Earl remarried quickly. First he wedded the former Elsie Pikal in Wayne County, Indiana; the following year he married Florence Victoria Rasmussen (known as Florence Victoria Robertson after her father changed his name). Soon after, the couple relocated to the Los Angeles area. At some point this marriage dissolved too, and there are reports Earl got married for a final time to a woman named Peggy, though I've not been able to confirm this. At any rate, Earl did attempt to regain custody of his then 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Estelle in 1930, but the Minnesota courts sided with her uncle and aunt, who'd grown very fond of their adopted daughter, and Earl's bid failed.
Almost exactly a year later, on May 11, 1931, 24-year-old Earl visited the beach at the foot of Linden Avenue in Long Beach, California with some friends after a long work shift. According to his friends, while swimming in the Pacific, Earl slipped under the water. By the time his friends realized something was wrong, they couldn't find him in the water. Initial search efforts failed. One week later, his body was finally recovered, and sent home to St. Paul, where he was buried on May 28.
Earl's daughter Estelle grew up well-loved by her adoptive parents, but she never forgot her birth parents, though she had no memories of them. She remembered the stories told about their lives and saved them away to tell us. She might have forgotten some dates or places here and there, but she never forgot the substance of her parents' lives. Their early deaths marked their families forever.
Earl moved to the Minneapolis area after he was grown and married his first cousin, Sarah Lucille Palma Genevieve Ostby, daughter of his uncle Otto Ostby. He and Lucille, as she preferred to be known, had one daughter, Estelle Lorraine; however, when Estelle was only 10 months old, Lucille died of peritonitis and hemorrhagic pneumonia. In the wake of her death, Earl apparently felt unable to care for his little daughter, and gave her over to his older brother Bernard and sister-in-law Alice to raise.
Earl remarried quickly. First he wedded the former Elsie Pikal in Wayne County, Indiana; the following year he married Florence Victoria Rasmussen (known as Florence Victoria Robertson after her father changed his name). Soon after, the couple relocated to the Los Angeles area. At some point this marriage dissolved too, and there are reports Earl got married for a final time to a woman named Peggy, though I've not been able to confirm this. At any rate, Earl did attempt to regain custody of his then 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Estelle in 1930, but the Minnesota courts sided with her uncle and aunt, who'd grown very fond of their adopted daughter, and Earl's bid failed.
Almost exactly a year later, on May 11, 1931, 24-year-old Earl visited the beach at the foot of Linden Avenue in Long Beach, California with some friends after a long work shift. According to his friends, while swimming in the Pacific, Earl slipped under the water. By the time his friends realized something was wrong, they couldn't find him in the water. Initial search efforts failed. One week later, his body was finally recovered, and sent home to St. Paul, where he was buried on May 28.
Earl's daughter Estelle grew up well-loved by her adoptive parents, but she never forgot her birth parents, though she had no memories of them. She remembered the stories told about their lives and saved them away to tell us. She might have forgotten some dates or places here and there, but she never forgot the substance of her parents' lives. Their early deaths marked their families forever.
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