Mrs. Marian Oldenberg (nee: Bair)

Marian “Shorty” Oldenberg

Oldenberg, Marian Faye, age 91, of Rochester, WI, peacefully floated up to the open arms of the
heavens on December 2,2020 with her loving daughter by her side holding her
hand and giving her one last kiss goodbye.
Marian was born August 13,1929 to Volnie and Freda (York) Bair in Ladora, Iowa. At the age of
3, her family moved their entire farm from Iowa to Burlington, WI. In later years they made their home in Rochester. This is where Marian spent the next 80 years of
her life. She was the current oldest, longest residing resident of Rochester.
Friends and relatives would often come to her inquiring about historical photos, seeking out the names of people or placement of
the area. She loved to look at pictures from the past, be it her own or someone’s who stopped to visit with theirs. She was always eager to gander through them and share her knowledge.
Marian attended the Rochester Grade School and graduated from the Rochester
Ag School where she was proud to be an “Aggie”. She served on many class reunion
Committees. Marian and her friends always had lots of fun laughing and talking
about their school days memories. She was told she was the last surviving
member of her class.
Marian and her friends would “hang out” at the gas station in
Rochester and go sledding together. This was where she met the love of her life,
Ralph Oldenberg. They were married on September 10, 1949
in the Rochester Congregational Church. They loved to go dancing, most of all polkas, with friends every weekend. Other favorite past times included taking trips,
going to the Big Boy restaurant every Sunday and frequent trips to the Pioneer Inn in Oshkosh.
Life by the Fox River gave her daily delight as she loved to see all the birds on and
around the water. Favorites included the bald eagles, hummingbirds and
cardinals, and counting how many hundreds of geese and ducks could be on the
river at one time. She also enjoyed the squirrels playfully scurry around in the
back yard. She could be found sitting up all hours of the night at the computer
screen watching the Decorah, Iowa eagles when they had their babies. She would
be so worried about the eaglets in the nest during a blizzard, a bad rainstorm or
fighting with each other and falling out. She was their virtual babysitter.
Marian was a Brownie and Girl Scout leader, then did baby-sitting out of their home
for several years, becoming “Mama Marian” to her little girls. In addition to being
active in her younger years in the church choir, she helped organize and was a
member of the Rochester Area Historical Society and later a member of the Red
Hat’s.
After taking courses at UW Whitewater, she became a teacher’s aide. Later she became the legendary librarian, “Shorty the Librarian”, for 25 years at the
Waterford Graded School. When she wasn’t in the library you would likely find her
on lunch or playground duty. She would even step in to play baseball with the kids, specifically
the short stop position. It was then that she was nicknamed “Shorty” due to both
her position on the team and her short stature. This name has been with her ever
since and used by all who knew her. She embraced every child that touched her
life along the way. There were many stories told about all the fun times shared with
the school staff and heartwarming stories about the students. Marian was the
recipient of two awards during her years at the school. The first was from the
Waterford Graded School District and the second coming from the State of
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Following retirement, Marian began to tutor out of her home, still loving the
interaction with children. Along with her personality of being so generous and
caring, she was always willing to help out anybody in any way she could.
She had an artistic flare. Marian enjoyed painting pictures which were shown and sold at
art fairs and given as gifts. She had also become the head bulletin board decorator at
school. She enjoyed decorating and moving furniture around the house. You could
often find her paging through Victorian magazines for ideas on how to change things up in
her home or helping friends with theirs. She especially enjoyed hanging wallpaper, even on the
ceiling! Christmas was her favorite holiday, going for rides to see all the lights,
baking traditional favorites and having the house look like Christmas Central on
steroids! It was always beautiful.
Her flower gardens gave her much joy, waiting patiently for all the flowers to bloom
in the spring and fill the yard with all their beautiful color. Being a farm girl, one of
her favorite past times was going for car rides around the countryside to watch the
crops coming up, new growth on the trees, fields being harvested in fall and leaves
turning color. It was the simple pleasures in many aspects that brought her the
greatest pleasures!
In later years, daily laughs and memories were shared with her sister, Nancy,
watching the Price is Right while having tea and cookies. She had a great sweet
tooth. Marian agreed dessert should be eaten first and no surprise that she also
thought pie should be served on a daily basis. Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and
The Hallmark Channel were also watched most days, especially the Hallmark
Christmas movies. She said that she could even be a cast member, knowing the
lines, as the same movie would be watched over and over. The Brett Favre Packer
era and Tiger Woods golf tournaments were her favorite tv sporting events. She
could be heard throughout the house cheering them on or in upset with defeat. To
her delight, Brett (in disguise) sent her a Christmas gift every year!
Marian’s most treasured times though were those spent with her loving family.
Always so genuinely thrilled to see them, giving each one affectionate greetings of
a huge heart filled smile with a warm, embracing, loving hug and kiss. Playing
cards with her grandchildren, having them do her nails, helping them with their
scholastics were just a few of the priceless times they shared together. She truly
cherished every moment and anything that was ever done or given to her.
Words cannot express the massive loss felt but we will always worship the time we
had with our tender loving hearted, thoughtful and devoted Mom, Gramma, Nana
and sister. She will always hold a warm, treasured spot deep within our hearts and
is a shining star who’s light will forever shine upon us with her undying love.
Marian will be deeply missed by all those whose lives she touched in so many ways.

Survived by her daughter, Cathy (Pat) Street,
Grandchildren, Jacob (Leah) Street, Jordon Street, Katie (Tony) Ciardo; great-grandchildren, Corinne, Veronica, Whitley, George, Emma, Grace, Madelynn,
Tony and one arriving in May;
sister, Nancy Clem, brother-in-law, Mike Tesch, nieces, nephews and many, many
dear friends.
Preceded in death by her parents, dear husband Ralph Oldenberg,
brother Robert Bair, sister, Midge Tesch, and brother-in-law, Don Clem.
We would like to give a special “thank you” to the Rochester Rescue Squad
members, Aurora Burlington Hospital ER, 2nd.Floor Physicians, staff and the
Aurora Hospice Team for all their compassionate care.

A private graveside service has been held with a Celebration of Life
Memorial Gathering will take place later next spring.
Memorials are suggested to Cathy Street, PO Box 444, Rochester, WI 53167 for
the purchase and donation of a library reading bench in memory of “Shorty the
Librarian”.
TOGETHER AGAIN!