Meet the People

Ken and Phyllis Ostrom

Ken and Phyllis Ostrom met in Custer, South Dakota.  Sounds clear-cut and simple but- there’s the rest of the story.  Phyllis was born in Mattoon, Illinois.  Her parents still live in Ohio.  After graduation from high school she went on to Ohio State University where she earned a degree in B.S. Landscape Architecture.  Next she moved east and found work in both Maine and South Carolina.  She was involved in plans for golf courses and land planning. In time, hunting for a new job, she arrived in Laramie where she went to work for the Forest Service. It was a work transfer  that took her on to Custer.   Kenny was born in Elko, Nevada.  His father was a BLM administrator whose job took the Ostrom family to Rock Springs.  There Kenny attended a Roman  Catholic parochial school from the 2nd to the 6th grade.  The free activities available to young people in Rock Springs at that time were amazing.  It was a good place to live for the three Ostrom boys. In 1983 Mr. Ostrom retired from the BLM and moved the family to a farm near Powell, where Kenny’s parents still live. In fact Kenny has mules there now and the Cody Ostroms often help out at the Powell farm. After graduation from Powell High School he went on to NWCC.  His interest was in forestry, and since Wyoming colleges did not offer what he needed he went on to Missoula where he earned a BS in forestry. 

When he went to Custer to work for the Forest Service he met Phyllis.  They were married while they lived there.  Their next move was to Sundance , WY.. Then on to Groveland, California where Kenny worked as a silveculture forester which involved acres of reforestation following major fires and Phyllis worked for a private landscape architect in Sonora.  Adelle was born in Sonora, California.  Then on to Portland, OR which is where Claire was born. There, Kenny worked for the Fish and Wildlife service for the Marbled Merlet project.  In time they returned to Wyoming to the Shoshone Forest where he now has the job of a Geographical Information Specialist - GIS- in the forest supervisor’s office.   

The Ostrom girls attend Livingston School where Phyllis does considerable volunteer work as well as substituting in the school office for the school secretaries.  One of her personal interests is in quilting and stain glass.  (She and Laureen Joest should discuss quilting.)  She supports Adelle and Claire in their Girl Scout activities. Adelle plays the piano and is a member of the Christ Church bell choir where she ably handles 2 bells.  Adelle  will move into middle school next year as well as Cadette Scouts.  She enjoys honors math.  Claire, who is now a 3rd grader, enjoys ballet and jazz dancing as well as soccer.  She is working on her sewing badge and also enjoys art.    Kenny enjoys hunting- his hope is to someday harvest a bighorn sheep.  He took up hockey at age 35 in tribute to his brother Danny who was a hockey goalie before his death in 1996.  The DANO Foundation was established by the Ostrom family in memory of Danny.  Kenny now also does some hockey refereeing. Phyllis was raised a Methodist, and at times attended church with her father who was a Roman Catholic.  Kenny is a Roman Catholic who  feels comfortable at Christ Church.  They enjoy the people they worship with there, and we enjoy their presence among us. The  girls are anticipating the Christmas season.  They will be with their Ostrom grandparents on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I learned that night at dinner their wishes for Christmas presents and I do hope they will let me know if those dreams come true.