Aug. 31, 1937 — April 23, 2024
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Richard “Dick” Oie passed away peacefully Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Helena, Mont., at the age of 86.
He was born on Aug. 31, 1937, in Granite Falls, Minn., to Adella and Olaf Oie. His childhood family moved around southern Minnesota several times before settling in Echo, Minn., where Dick graduated from Echo High School in 1955. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, which gave him the opportunity to see parts of Europe and to learn the trade of medical technician that served as his lifelong career.
Dick was honorably discharged from the Army in 1958, and from then until 1977, he worked in Minnesota as a lab technician at hospitals in the towns of Crookston, Aiken and finally Bigfork, where he spent 10 years working at Itasca County Hospital. After passing the Minnesota licensing exam to become a Registered Medical Technologist in 1971, he was promoted to Laboratory/X-ray Supervisor at the hospital in Bigfork.
He met his wife, Ruth Lindner, while working with her in Crookston, Minn., and they were married on June 5, 1965. They had three children: Lei, Rick and Katrina. The family lived in Bigfork on 20 acres of land nestled between Mike Lake and Horseshoe Lake until 1977 when Dick accepted a position as Laboratory Supervisor at Syringa Hospital in Grangeville. He remained at the hospital in Grangeville until he retired in 2001 after a more than 40 year career working as a medical technologist.
Dick and Ruth lived in Grangeville until 2016. There, they owned a business together, The Book Shoppe, from 1980 to 2012. He did all the bookkeeping for the business and was the chauffeur when they traveled to book events and gift-buying shows over the years.
In 2005, Dick and Ruth celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a trip to Norway, land of their heritage, escorted by their daughter Katrina. In 2015, they enjoyed a 50th anniversary cruise through the Hawaiian islands followed by a week on Oahu where they were joined by their children and spouses and grandchildren.
Dick and Ruth moved to Helena, Mont., in 2016 to be close to their son Rick and his family. In recent years, Dick enjoyed watching his grandchildren, Morgan and Cole, grow up — attending music recitals and concerts to watch his granddaughter play violin, watching cross-country races and hearing about the adventures that his grandson was having.
Dick always had a love of hunting and fishing. He made trips annually to Minnesota for the walleye fishing opener with his extended family there. He loved to sit at the card table with his brothers playing buck euchre and was always up for a game of cribbage. He made several trips to hunt pheasants in South Dakota and geese in Canada. There were many summer weekends spent camping as a family in Idaho as his children grew up. He always loved being in a canoe, paddling around a lake.
Dick is survived by his wife of 58 years, Ruth; children Lei (and Steve) Meier, Rick (and Jill) Oie, and Katrina (and Dean) Rodenberger; brother Olaf “Ray” (and Nona) Oie; sister Beverly (and Sheldon) Sandberg; granddaughter Morgan Oie (and fiancé Zack); grandson Cole Oie; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings: Orville “Jim,” Corella Hamre, Arfield, Dorothy Mosio, Milton “Mickey”, Robert, Gordon and David.
A memorial service for Dick will be held at 5 p.m. PDT Monday, April 29, at Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church in Helena. He will be laid to rest at Echo Cemetery following a military service at 9 a.m. PDT, Saturday, May 4, at Sunset Funeral Home in Echo.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dick’s name to Syringa General Hospital Foundation, 607 West Main, Grangeville, ID 83530 or to the Helena Food Share, P.O. Box 943, Helena, MT 59624.
Please visit aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Dick.
