Elaine Lydia Ossanna
February 10, 1937 - December 1, 2022
        

(nee Reghanti)

Found peace on Dec. 1, 2022. Age 85 years. Loving wife of the late Edward. Dear mom of Nikki Lynn (Robert) Teik and Mark (Lori). Proud grandma of Sara Jo (Michael) Ziegele, Bryan Ossanna, Mitchel Ossanna, Victoria Teik and Christina Teik and great-grandma of Landon and Reyna Ziegele. Dear sister of the late Carol Voelz. Further survived by other relatives and friends.

Visitation for Elaine will be held Sat. Jan. 28, 2023 at the Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home in Menomonee Falls from 10 AM until the time of the Memorial Service at 1 PM. Following the 1 PM Memorial Service family and friends are invited for a luncheon at the Preserve at Silver Spring in Menomonee Falls. In lieu of flowers, memorials to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are appreciated.

Laney O had a wonderful life and lived it to its fullest. Starting as a shy girl from Lutheran High School, to her first job at Northwestern Mutual Life (where she met lifelong friend Nancy) where she was fired for sneaking out of the office with her, to meeting Eddie at the EF Schmidt company and later marrying him in 1957. We always say Elaine and Eddie were the original party animals. She was popular and always ready for a good time; hosting many theme parties or simply a "come as you are party".

We were always surrounded by family and friends and enjoyed a very social upbringing. As kids we grew up surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, neighbors and the many friends of our parents. Always a game to be played or a story to be told about friends and family history. Too many to tell. Both mom and dad had their own vocabulary---some words completely made up and some pretty colorful. Whatever worked!

Mom and dad attended Our Savior Lutheran church, and we were raised in good faith. Laney was a stay-at-home mother and ensured we always had what we all needed....Mondays were laundry, Tuesdays were ironing and Thursdays were food shopping. Coupon cutting was somewhere in there. The newspaper was her favorite thing to read. As we got older, mom nannied for a cousin and then later in her life, she nannied for a family in Grafton, now great friends. She was superior at spreading her motherly love and took it to the next level. While nannying she managed to " set-up" her daughter with her husband. The introduction was...."he doesn't smoke and has very shiny shoes". Mom got along well with all family in-laws and made lasting relationships with so many great memories.

Along came 5 grandchildren, and then 2 great grandchildren, and this was her heaven on earth. Mom loved being around the kids and being extra silly. Anything to get a laugh. From Christmases always spent together, to thrifting at Goodwill, to eating sand pies, to making homemade gnocchi, Granny O was always fun to be around.

Mom "never met a stranger " and perhaps that is why later in life she became popular at Community Memorial during her numerous cancer visits there. Her fighting spirit was contagious and admired by the ones surrounding her, as she beat the odds and her cancer years ago. The fight she gave now to survive this stroke was heroic. A true inspiration.

Some examples to remind all of us about Elaine Lydia and some of her superpowers: freckles, Nikkers and Knockers, bloody marys and " formosa's", Belairs, “You've just been passed by a girl”, Thelma and Louise, fishing, cooking, cleaning, crotch catching, sauerkraut, dumplings, where did you get that swiss cheese?, liver sausage from a parking lot, slot machines, road trips with her sister, white chocolate hot lattes from Kwik Trip, english muffin bread from St Germain, bras from Walmart, no swimming but ice skating, Herb Alpert, Tom Jones or Il Volo, pink foam rollers (later her curling iron). At the end, the wig she always wanted, "I have six hairs in seven rows".

Rest in Peace dear Mother!

We love you and thank you for making our world a better place!