Ostman, Lesley (Blodgett) Obituary

Ostman, Lesley (Blodgett) attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Ostman, Lesley (blodgett).

Graduation Year	Class of 1948
Date of Passing	Aug 15, 2021
About	Lesley Ostman, was born Lesley Blodgett in 1928 to an early California pioneer family, daughter of Muriel (Casselman) Blodgett and Harvey Blodgett died at age 93. The family built an agricultural legacy from meager beginnings. Mother was that skinny kid with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, riding on the back of a cow pony. She knew every twist-and-turn around the Cosumnes River. She herded cattle to Tahoe, rode her horse to Rhoads School, painted with the realists, and fabricated metal jewelry with the masters. She grew up on a hop ranch when water was plentiful, and siphons were still used to flood the checks in the field. She fell head over heels for her husband Porky. Their courtship letters reveal the feelings were mutual. Lesley saw the Blodgett and Ostman Ranch she and Porky devoted themselves to round the corner into the 21st Century. Labor strikes collapsed the hop farm. Floods wiped out the most extensive choose and cut tree farm in Northern California when the levee upstream broke in 1997. From mule-driven machines to Caterpillars, John Deere’s, and Farmall’s, she still preferred her horses—just as her Pa preferred his mules. She spread her paints and found-art out on every surface of the house, frequently stopping to adjust, add a touch more pigment, stand back and watch her masterpiece evolve between children-rustling, dinner in the oven, and animals lining up for feed, waiting for her to saddle up and explore another trail. Always on the go, always ready to contribute, doing what she loved, our place was the place that our friends gravitated toward, lined up to eat the food she crafted out of a small country kitchen, tossed back a beer reminiscent of her pioneer heritage. She made life an adventure for family and friends that emerged as one. She fed us with life’s experiences. We miss her nudging us to learn how to ride horses, scuba dive, dig clams out of the bay up to our elbows in mud, track mountain lion prints at the edge of the river bank, and wade in to examine turtles and pollywogs down at Deer Creek, in the Cosumnes River. She held leadership roles in scouting and 4-H, thrived at Farm Bureau, Native Daughters, Hop Growers, Cattleman’s using these platforms as an outlet for creativity and building family teams. Yet she was independent enough to tour Africa, Italy, dance with her friends in later years, often trying to bring us along. After our dad, Porky, passed we knew she would be just fine when she shot a rattler coiled in the kitchen. Blasted it between the eyes Annie Oakley style. Mother doted on her grandkids. She introduced them to the same experiences we had grow- ing up, told them the same stories about traditions, bolster self-confidence as they learned how to make toast, just so it wouldn’t get burnt—we never said she was perfect, just that she built cooperation and an environment of learning. Family will honor her at a private reception. Donations to her favorite nonprofits are encouraged, there were many. Children: Lorili Ostman, Craig (Kathie) Ostman, and Denys (John) Soto survive her. Grandchildren: Dominic (Amanda) Alexander, Alexia (Josh) Alexander-Lozano, Jolie (Jason) Ostman-Kiser, Kira (deceased) Ostman, and Maria (Dorothy) Wenzel-Ho. Great Grandkids: Fiona, Ella, Hanna, Abigail, Grayson and Penn. Like Children: nieces, nephews and childhood friends--hers and ours--continue as part of the family circle. - Information from N.S.G.W newsletter (September 2021) and Multi-reunion class list submitted by Lesley's daughter, Betty