Dorothy Elaine Osak

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Dorothy Elaine Osak on January 17th. Dorothy experienced an infection on January 11th that overwhelmed her immune system and multiple organs. Dorothy was born in Parkston, South Dakota, and grew up on a farm with her parents, Anthony and Elizabeth Kummer, and her ten siblings. Dorothy loved the natural beauty of South Dakota. While getting her bachelor’s degree, she interned as a Medical Technologist. She continued to work in Michigan as a Med Tech, at St. Joseph in Ann Arbor, and as a researcher in Wayne county and several other hospitals in Arizona and California. While working in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she met William (Bill) Osak, and the two were married shortly on August 16, 1969. Their honeymoon was a 7 ½ week trip to Europe on motorcycle. The couple moved from Michigan to Arizona to California, ultimately settling in Visalia, California in 1976 with their one-year-old son Bryan Osak. Seven years later, they had a second son Robert Osak. Dorothy was much more than just a devoted wife and mother. She continued to work in the medical field until her gradual retirement in the 2000’s, and following her retirement her life became even more engaging and meaningful. Dorothy’s passion and calling in life was to serve as a crusader to improve the greater humanity through a multitude of social advocacy, social justice, environmental, and democratic organizations. Dorothy was heavily involved in groups such as Beyond War, Environmental Justice, the League of Women Voters, and the Democratic Club of Visalia. If she were not reading, taking notes and preparing for a presentation or discussion on an important subject, she would be standing on a street corner advocating for women's rights or knocking on doors encouraging reluctant citizens to vote. Growing up as the second youngest of 11 siblings, financing college was questionable; so Dorothy attended college at Mount Marty University, a college run by Catholic nuns. While her early religious experience sparked a deep spirituality in her, she became disheartened with the harshness of established Christian Doctrine and sought other ways to foster her keen intellect and deep spirituality. Over the past decade, Dorothy became heavily involved in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (U.U.). It was with the U.U. congregation that Dorothy found her spiritual and intellectual connection with other like-minded individuals. Just prior to her passing, she was enthusiastically working on a presentation to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Unfortunately, she was unable to deliver her presentation about a fellow champion of peace, kindness, and human rights. Dorothy is survived by her husband, Bill Osak; her son Robert Osak and his fiancé Jessie Irwin; her son and daughter-in-law, Bryan and Gina Osak; her grandchildren, Luca and Camila Osak, Stone and Presley Kendall, and her five remaining siblings, Theresa Bigge, Joanne Hegg, Marlene Olsen, Duane Kummer and Carol Long. A celebration of life will be held at the Visalia Friends Meeting House, 17208 Ave. 296, Visalia, CA 93292, at 2:00pm on Saturday, 2/18/2023. In place of flowers or gifts, we are asking people to make a donation in her name to a social justice or environmental organization such as EarthJustice, Environmental Defense Fund, or Friends Committee on National Legislation or one of many deserving organizations.