Title	Mrs.
Last Name	Osterhus
First Name	Virgina
Middle Name
Maiden Name	Ellms
Nick Name
Place of Birth	Boston, MA
Date of Birth	1922-06-18
Place of Death	Houston, TX
Date of Death	2006-07-30
Publication	The Eastern Gazette 8-12/8-18-2006, p.15
Obituary	VIRGINIA ELLMS OSTERHUS HOUSTON, TX - Virginia Ellms Osterhus died on July 30, 2006 in Houston, Texas, following a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease. The eldest daughter of Edward Horace and Vivienne Frame Ellms, Jinny was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 18, 1922. She attended Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1943, majoring in history and Spanish. After graduation she joined the Navy, becoming a lieutenant. Following her Navy service, Jinny worked for five years in New York City in the art library of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, now ExxonMobil. There she met Sigurd Miles Osterhus, an employee of Standard Oil. They were married in November, 1948, in New York City. Jinny was an avid reader, journaler and birding enthusiast. She belonged to the American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters, and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. An expert cook, Jinny's family get-togethers with her sons and their families were marked by good food and lively conversation. Her passion for bird- watching took her from the Arctic to Kenya, Africa, and from Europe to the South Americas and the Galapagos Islands. Jinny's journals from these trips are filled with sparkling language and astute observations about the cultures she explored. Jinny lived many places during Sig's career with Exxon, including Libya, Africa, Columbia, Venezuela, Texas and Alaska. She continued to travel extensively in her later years, but her favorite destination was always her lakeside home in Dexter, Maine, where she spent each summer with her sons, and later with her sons' families. A loving mother, Jinny will be remembered for her strong mind and forthright manner. She was an independent woman, whose voice made a difference in the lives of all who knew her. Jinny was preceded in death by her parents, and by her sister, Barbara Ellms Dover. She is survived by her husband Sigurd; her sister, Shirley Ellms Hatch; her stepmother Jean Pugh Ellms; her sons and their wives: Douglas, Philip and Janette; Monty, Peter and Kim; and Chris; and by her grandchildren: Dan, Lauren, Luke, Rachel, Erik, Sarah, Andrew, Christine, John Mark, Katie and Christopher; as well as by her nieces: Randy, Sarah, Susan and Jeannie. A burial service will be held at noon on Wednesday August 16,2006 in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Dexter, Maine. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Maine Audubon Society.