Farewell to a good friend and a true public servant

It seems ironic that the headline on this year's holiday greeting from Pat Ostewig to family and friends was "To Be Alive Is Wonderful." Pat died suddenly of a brain aneurysm shortly before Christmas. For those of us who knew her, worked with her and loved her, the very fact that Pat lived was wonderful.

At her funeral Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Church last Thursday, the opening hymn was "Amazing Grace" and those words fittingly described the way she lived her life. Her coffin was preceded by an honor guard of 24 members of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, International, a society of key female educators. Each carried a red rose, the organization's symbol, indicating her 24 years of membership. She was the state's vice president and was busy making plans for special events when the organization will have its major convention in Chicago this summer.

Ostewig taught art at Irving Crown High School and then was head of the art department at the combined Dundee-Crown High School and she was truly an educator. The word "educator" comes from the Latin "educare" meaning "to draw out or to lead" and that describes how she affected the lives of her students and those around her.

Many former students waited in the long line at Miller Funeral home Wednesday afternoon and evening to pay their respects. They reminisced about eating lunch with her in the art room during flex time and how she changed their lives. Some have gone on to careers in art and others have had art enrich their lives. Some even said that they never would have made it through high school without Pat.

Her Aunt Betty remembered that her openness and ability to communicate with students prompted the Carpentersville Police Department to ask her to serve on various youth programs.

Ostewig's life was one of community service. She served on and was president of the Dundee Township Library Board and was a member of the Dundee Garden Club. Sue Kotleba remembered how when the garden club was planning its annual plant sale, Pat looked at the signs with an artist's eye. Sue explained, "Pat said, 'Let's put a little pizazz in the labels.' And then she gently guided us to do things better, a little more artistically, a little more creatively."

Pat had been very ill two years ago and recently wrote, "I appreciate my ability to enjoy life here (at home) with new zest. My garden club offers me another venue for creating a work of art in my garden. I continue to learn wonderful new techniques and possibilities in my yard … Calling my garden a work of art is a complete misnomer, but I sure try."

Pat was also an active member of the Carpentersville League of Women Voters and her car with the League's magnetic sign plastered on it was an annual participant in the Sleepy Hollow Fourth of July Parade. She was working on a way to incorporate art into a fundraiser for the League. She and Bonnie Kalaway had plans to attend the League of Women Voters National Convention in Portland, Ore., this summer and the follow it with a river boat cruise.

Travel was another one of her loves. One year she won a trip for two to Hawaii in a raffle that was sponsored by the Art Institute of Chicago and she delighted in having the opportunity to take her mom to see the islands. She had many exciting summer vacations at remote locations, where she gathered wonderful native pieces of art. This year she stayed closer to home, traveling with friends to the John Campbell Folk School in North Carolina where she took two basket weaving classes. She said, "My quest to be a lifelong learner of creativity brings such joy to my existence."

Pat also was an active member of St. Catherine of Siena Parish. She and I served on the parish council together. She was a member of the Art and Environment team and created a large wooden block sculpture with images of saints painted on it. For the past several years, she was a member of the Ministry of Care visiting the homebound, elderly, ill and disabled parishioners and bringing them communion.

At the funeral Mass, Father Uriel Lopez summed it up by saying, "Our purpose is to bless each other. God can act through us when we are there for other people. Pat's last gift, as an organ donor, was life to others." And then he added, "Pat loved travel so we say in your new eternal life, have a good trip. Enjoy the service. Hope it's first class."