Lois C. (Ostenson) Barndt of West Newton, dear wife of Ronald L. Barndt, died of cancer on October 7, 2016 at age 84. Born in Decorah, Iowa on April 7, 1932, she was the daughter of Lloyd and Luella (Fassbinder) Ostenson.
Following high school in Decorah, she traveled to southern California to visit her brother Robert who was a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The visit turned into a year-long stay, and during a retreat at Forest Home Conference Center in the San Bernardino Mountains, she committed her life to Christ.
She attended Los Angeles City College for a year, and then transferred to Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington where she participated in the student government, sang in the college choir, and graduated in 1955 with a degree in religious education.
As further preparation for Christian service, Lois enrolled at the Biblical Seminary of New York for two years, where she earned a Master of Religious Education degree. She then taught nursery school for a few years at the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Lois came to Boston in 1959 to take a position as a counselor in the college department of Park Street Church, never thinking that she would spend the rest of her life in Massachusetts. She worked in the college ministry of the church until 1965, and during that time she met and married her husband. After the birth of her children, she devoted herself to their care and upbringing.
When her children went off to college, Lois re-entered the workforce, first as a medical receptionist, and then as the director of the women’s ministries of Park Street Church. She finally retired from that position in 2008.
In retirement she enjoyed traveling around the country with her husband visiting relatives, and friends she had acquired at Park Street Church but who now lived in many other parts of the U.S. She loved to spend time with people, and had a remarkable memory for the many, many people she had come to know over the years. She was also active for 50 years with her husband in the Gideon ministry.
In 2013 she discovered she had cancer. Surgery was apparently successfully in removing it, and she enjoyed a few more years of relative good health. But the cancer returned two years later, and efforts to treat it were only successful for a few months.
Lois’s joy in serving her Lord was evident to all, and there has been a wonderful outpouring of gratitude for her life and service from many who knew her.
She was preceded in death by her older brother, Robert Ostenson. She is survived by her husband Ronald, her son David and his wife Ann of Hudson MA, her daughter Carolyn Barndt of Denver CO, her sister-in-law Peggy Ostenson of Jackson MS, and three grandsons Jonathan, Andrew, and Matthew.
A memorial service was held on October 15 at Park Street Church in Boston. Interment was at Gethsemane Cemetery in West Roxbury.
Gifts in Lois’s memory may be made to The Gideons International, www.Gideons.org, PO Box 140800, Nashville, TN, 37214

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