West Dundee art enthusiast dies at 81

Louise Osada, 81, was an active member in the Dundee Township art scene for many of her 50 years living in West Dundee. She died Aug. 2 after an illness that kept her in and out of the hospital for the past six months.

Osada’s husband, Chester Osada, said his wife was always “artistically inclined,” spending much of her life experimenting with various painting styles, later picking up quilting and once even making her own canoe.

He said Louise just had to do everything.

“I never saw a woman that was so involved — sometimes to the exclusion of practicality,” Chester Osada said. “She would immerse herself completely into something. She never could do something halfway.”

Louise Osada was a founding member of the Dundee Art Center and the Dundee Theatre Guild, according to her family, though both groups have since become inactive. She painted backdrops and helped with costumes as a member of the Theatre Guild.

Osada displayed some of her work in various art shows over the years, winning a prize once at the Rockford Art Show, her husband said.

Osada also volunteered her Wednesdays to the Dundee Township Historical Society library to file and do research projects. That commitment she held onto until very recently, cutting newspaper clips that mentioned Dundee Township even when she wasn’t well enough to take them to the historical society herself.

Mary Lamp spent her Wednesdays in the historical society library as well. She said Osada was very positive and “all sorts of fun.” The women bonded over quilting as well as history, traveling to quilt shows and admiring the bright colors of their own designs.

Osada kept a cheerful face through the last six months when her body started to turn against her. Lamp, as well as Osada’s other friends and family, saw a woman who remained cheerful.

“She just accepted it and went on,” Lamp said. “She was a wonderful lady.”

A celebration of life will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Miller Funeral Home, 504 W. Main St., West Dundee. A memorial service will follow from 4 to 4:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, family asks that memorials be made to FISH Food Pantry in Carpentersville, Animal House Shelter in Huntley and the Dundee Historical Society in West Dundee.