Hubert A. (Ozzie) Ostendorf
Hubert A. (Ozzie) Ostendorf Feb 25, 1917-June 6, 2011
Ozzie Ostendorf passed away on June 6th 2011 at Glendale Memorial Hospital at the age of 94. A longtime Glendale resident, and a Hoover High School graduate, he moved to Glendale in 1929 at age 12 and was the oldest retired Glendale Police officer. Prior to joining the Police department, where he retired as a Sergeant, he worked at the Glendale News Press for five years. On March 15, 1942, he married his high school sweetheart Helen Young, to whom he was devoted for the rest of his life. He served in WWII in the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic and crew chief on B-24 bombers at Shemya Island, the farthest outpost in the Aleutian Islands, where bombing raids on Japan were initiated. The temperatures there were sub-zero, and the isolation was extreme, but Ozzie’s good natured disposition never left him. He wrote Helen daily on the desk he fashioned out of shipping pallets, and persevered under the stark conditions there.
Ozzie was universally loved by all who knew him. As a police officer, his file was filled with letters to the Police Chief commending him for his fairness and helpfulness. He climbed the ranks to the level of Sergeant and Watch Commander. For the past seventy years he has been an active member of the Glendale Presbyterian Church, where he was an usher and president of the “10-10” class. He is survived by his wife Helen, his son Bill, his daughter Arlene and her husband Mike, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at the Glendale Presbyterian Church, 125 S. Louise St. in Glendale at 11:30 A.M. on Saturday June 25, 2011. Extra church parking is available in the public parking lot at the rear of the church. In lieu of flowers, please make a gift to Glendale Presbyterian Church or your favorite charity, in his name.