Remembering Lois Oeschsle
Lois Hall Oechsle, retired nursing faculty member, passed away at the age of 92 on Dec. 9, 2018 after living for several years at The Glenn in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Lois was born in Ilion, New York on January 26, 1926. She was the second of the three children of Howard and Marguerite (Lewis) Hall. She attended Keuka College in upstate New York, graduating with a B.S. in nursing in 1948. Later that year she married Gunter Jahn, and they settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Lois’s family moved several times because of Gunter’s position with Prudential, and when he died in 1962, she moved with her children to Chatham, New Jersey to be closer to her extended family. She married Lyle Oechsle in 1965, and they eventually moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota until his death in 2013. They were residents of Grand Forks for 43 years, and they also wintered on Marco Island for more than half of that time.
When Lois’s three children had started their own careers, she returned to her education, earning an M.S. in counseling from the University of North Dakota, and an M.S. in nursing administration from the University of Minnesota. She served on the faculty of the University of North Dakota for 15 years, retiring in 1990 as Associate Professor in the College of Nursing. On several occasions she won the College’s award as its outstanding educator. Many of her former students went on to make major contributions in clinical health care and administration.
In retirement, she was active in volunteer activities at the Marco Island Health Care Center, Altru Health System, and First Presbyterian Church, Grand Forks.
Lois is survived by sisters-in-law Connie Hall, Barbara (Pat) Hall, Tommie Jahn, and step-sister Mary Catherine Rich; son Eric (Ruth) Jahn, Wayzata, Minnesota, daughter Gretchen Jahn (Karl Sutterfield), Broomfield, Colorado, and son Dana Jahn, Twin Falls, Idaho; grandsons Paul (Daisy) Jahn, Stephen Jahn, and Andrew Jahn; and great-grandsons Benson and Troy.
The family invites all her friends and former associates to a memorial service on Saturday, June 1, at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 5555 S. Washington, Grand Forks.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the UND Alumni Association, or PEO Chapter T (Grand Forks).
