Elaine Agnes was born to William Paul Frank and Edna Agnes Green Osterman in Seward, Nebraska on April 22, 1925. She was baptized on March 7, 1926 and confirmed on April 14, 1946. Her confirmation verse was Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
She attended the District 70 country grade school and graduated as valedictorian from the Denton High School in 1943. She graduated from the Teacher’s College at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1947, where she was a member of Pi Lamda Theta, an education honor society. She also attended St. John’s College in Winfield, Kansas from 1950-51, studying to be a church secretary. She taught public school for one year in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and one year at the District 70 country grade school, and then worked at Banker’s Life Insurance Comany in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was married to Kenneth Milton Thayer, the son of Willard and Viola Kaufman Thayer at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Crete, Nebraska on June 3, 1954. She taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and fifth and six grade confirmation class. She started a Sunday School which she taught for ten years.
She enjoyed Bible studies, writing letters, especially to missionaries and pastors, reading, sewing, baking and gardening. She also liked to travel with her husband, relatives and friends, including cruises to Alaska, the Amazon, the Caribbean, Europe, Greece, Hawaii, Turkey, the Panama Canal and the Mexican Riviera. She had been a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Crete and Pleasant Dale, and was also a member of Ladies Aid, the Martha Circle, and enjoyed making quilts for Lutheran World Relief. She also started and held monthly Stonecroft Bible studies in her home. She was a member of the Denton Historical Society and attended Denton senior monthly dinners.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sons: Kenneth Will and David Milton. She is survived by a sister, Anita Irene Osterman Austin, and a daugher, Loree Annette Thayer.
Favorite Bible verses:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prearranged so that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
“Do not treasure up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust make them disappear,and where thieves break in and thieve. But treasure up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust make disappear, and where thieves do not break in or thieve; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
Most comforting verse: “But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68
Favorite Psalm: Psalm 102
Favorite Gospel: John 14