FIELD, John Odell 1911-1998

FIELD, OLSON, BIRKEDAL

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 6/14/2010 at 20:56:51

John Odell Field

OSAGE — John Odell Field, 86, of Osage and San Jacinto, Calif., died Wednesday (April 8, 1998) at Hemet Valley Medical Center in Hemet, Calif.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rock Creek Lutheran Church, rural Osage, with the Rev. Philip Luttio officiating, assisted by the Rev. Paul Birkedal and the Rev. Paul Anderson. Burial will be in Rock Creek Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Champion Funeral Home in Osage, with family time at 7 p.m.

A memorial service will be held in San Jacinto, Calif., at a later date.

John Odell Field was born Sept. 25, 1911, on the family farm in West Cedar Township in Mitchell County, Iowa, the son of Oscar and Caroline (Olson) Field.

John was baptized as an infant and confirmed in 1925 by the Rev. O.C. Myhre at Rock Creek Lutheran Church.

He attended Cedar No. 5, known as the Field School, and was graduated from Osage High School in 1930. After working a couple of years on the farm for his uncles, Martin and Peter Field, he joined his father and brother-in-law in the Field and Christiansen partnership until his father's death in 1953.

John was a life-long farmer, the oldest in the area. His motto was "The less you do, the less you are able to do." Due to medical problems, he was assisted by Calvin Thompson for nearly the past 25 years.

In February 1942, John, about to be drafted in World War II, enlisted in the Coast Guard. He was based in New Orleans, La., and Galveston, Texas, until his discharge in the fall of 1945.

John was married to Marie Birkedal on Jan. 28, 1942, at Rock Creek Lutheran Church by the Rev. C. B. Gunderson. He was a life-long, active member of Rock Creek Lutheran Church and its organizations. He also belonged to the Farm Bureau, American Legion, Sons of Norway and a photography club. He had a wide variety of interests—music, reading, fishing, boating, sports and developing his own pictures.

He especially enjoyed traveling. With his wife, Marie, he drove through all 50 states, all the Canadian provinces, Mexico, Germany and Scandinavia. They also traveled in England, Japan and Korea. Many of these trips were happy times with the family.

Survivors include his wife, Marie, of Osage and San Jacinto; three daughters, Carolyn Cassidy, and her husband, Richard, of Logansport, Ind., Geraldine Keeling, of San Gabriel, Calif., and Joanne Field, of Topeka, Kan.; one son, Donald Field, of Topeka, Kan.; and two grandsons, Brendon Cassidy, of Canyon Country, Calif., and Michael Cassidy, of Normal, Ill.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Ina Christiansen.

Mason City Globe Gazette - April 12, 1998 -- from ncigs.org