Theresa Osteroos

Theresa Geri Lynn Os-

teroos, 66, of Burlington,

ND, passed away in her

home with loving family

present February 1, 2022

after a short battle with

pancreatic cancer coupled

with many years of chron-

ic Lupus. A public

memorial service will be

held at Eagles Wings

Community Fellowship at

3:00 PM Sunday February

6, 2022 (all who loved her

are welcome to attend).

There will be a private

viewing for the family at

Nelson Funeral Home on

February 7, 2022. Due to

weather constraints, our

beloved Theresa will be

laid to rest near her

parents at Viking Luth-

eran Cemetery in Mad-

dock, ND tentatively

scheduled for Mother’s

Day week in May 2022

(details will be announced

in the papers and on so-

cial media this spring).

Online condolences may

be left at

www.thenelsonfuneral

home.com. Arrangements

are pending with the Nel-

son Funeral Home of

Maddock.

Theresa loved Jesus,

and she loved children. In

lieu of flowers, please

donate to Billy Graham

Ministries and the Dakota

Hope Clinic (Minot North

Dakota pregnancy crisis

center).

Theresa was born on

December 10, 1955 to

Herbert and Margot

Faleide at the Maddock

Memorial hospital in

Maddock, ND. After gra-

duating from Maddock

High School in 1974 she

went on to graduate from

the Lutheran Bible Insti-

tute in Seattle, Washing-

ton in 1976. She moved to

Moorehead, MN to be-

come an administrative

assistant for Sweeney and

Company. A few years

later she enrolled at Minot

State as it was called back

then and graduated with a

Bachelor’s of Education

Degree in Special Educa-

tion. She went on to work

at a school in Grafton, ND

with children with special

needs. From there she

moved to Minot to work

in various schools in the

area in the same capacity

as a Special Needs teach-

er. As the years passed

she felt she needed to

complete her Master’s de-

gree in the same field

which she did also at

MSU.

Theresa being the over

achiever that she is, met

and married Odd Lauren

Osteroos in 1998 after

what she always joked

was a seventeen year

courtship. Nine months

after they were united in

marriage, instead of wel-

coming a baby at that time

they started welcoming

foster children into their

home. Theresa was pas-

sionate about mother-

hood, and tirelessly loved

and supported their

dreams through being an

amazing parent. Though

dozens of children passed

through their home over

the years, they decided to

adopt Vanna at age 17 and

Brittney at age 4 in 2004,

Sharon at less than a

month old in 2008, and

became legal guardians of

Jazzy Bergie for a time

(though Jazzy remains a

beloved member of the

crew along with many

other children).

Theresa retired from

teaching this past year

2021, and unfortunately

her retirement was short

lived. She gave 35 years of

service to Minot Public

School systems as an ear-

ly childhood special edu-

cation teacher. She loved

her work and her guiding

hand will be felt and seen

through the countless

children that she helped

during her career. She

loved to travel, and now

Lauren will take up that

exploring spirit to travel

with the youngest still at

home, Sharon.

Theresa is preceded in

death by her mother,

Marge Faleide and father,

Herbert Faleide who are

both interred at Viking

Lutheran Church

Cemetery where Theresa

will also be laid to rest.

She is survived by her sis-

ter, Deborah Margean

Anderson (Wes); hus-

band, Lauren Odd Os-

teroos; her children, Dr.

Vanna Binning (Jeremiah),

Brittney Coady, Sharon

Osteroos, and numerous

other children that called

her “mom” (Jazzy Bergie,

Shelby Roberts). Also sur-

viving are her nephew

and nieces born to her

only sister Deborah Mar-

gean Anderson, Nathan

Braswell (Amanda),

Nicole Emswiler (Dave),

and Alexis Kauffman

(Shawn). Theresa also

helped to raise Alexis,

Nicole and Nathan when

they were young and her

sister Deborah divorced

and needed her help so

badly. Deborah says “We

will miss her dearly be-

cause she was superhu-

man. She helped every-

one she came in contact

with. RIP dear sister in

Jesus’ arms.”