Oscar Stradinger was born on May 7, 1919, in Isabel, South Dakota. His parents and grandparents were part of the last wave of Russo/German immigration to the Dakotas......people who were recruited by the American railroad industry .... choosing to farm and ranch in a climate similar to that they endured in Beserabia, Russia.

Oscar, the eldest of 3 boys, grew up in the harsh environment of the west river area of northern South Dakota. He worked on the family farm//ranch and rode a horse to and from school. This was not unusual since the agricultural economy of that era relied on some mechanization but also horse drawn equipment of the 1920's. The family endured the highs and lows of the agricultural existence and lost their first farm after 2 successive years of crop failure in the early depression years of the 1930's. After renting an interim farm in Dupree, South Dakota, Oscar's family reestablished itself back in Isabel and continued there for three more decades of successful farming and ranching.

Oscar was a bright and attentive student in high school and was able to secure a position as an incoming freshman at Yankton College, in Southeast South Dakota following his graduation from High School in 1937. Despite the often-conflicting demands of working his way through college, he was a member of the debate team and was elected as President of the student body. While in college, he met his wife, Mavis Clark, starting a relationship which lasted till her death more than 72 years later.

Following his graduation from college in 1941, Oscar was called up for the first draft of World War II.  He spent four years in the U.S. Army.  Having grown up speaking German and taking the language in college, he understandably was deployed to the European theatre, served as a staff officer in the Counterintelligence Corps and was attached to the commands of such then military luminaries as George Patton, Omar Bradley, and Teddy Roosevelt Jr. His tour of duty included England, North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. He received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and the bronze star for bravery while U.S. troops were fighting in the North African campaign against the Germans under the command of Erwin Rommel.

In 1944, he returned to the U.S. and married Mavis Clark.  They had three children, Marilee (deceased at birth 1946) David, born in 1947 and Linda, born in 1948. After his army discharge as a first lieutenant in 1945 he decided to pursue a career in academics and attended the University of Chicago where he secured his master's degree and all course work for a PHD in public administration. He subsequently became a college professor at Whittier College in California and then the University of South Dakota.

An offer to work with the Atomic Energy Commission shifted his attention from academia to government where he fulfilled 30 years of service first in the uranium exploration of Colorado and ultimately in the United States Capital in Washington, DC where he represented the nuclear energy interests for the U.S. Department of Energy to Congress. At his retirement from the government, he was awarded the Distinguished Career Service Award for his accomplishments in public service.

While in Washington, he continued his military reserve career, retiring as a Major in the Air Force He was also an active layperson ... serving as moderator in the Congregational United Church of Christ and in various leadership positions for the greater Washington Council of Churches

In 1989, Oscar and his wife, Mavis, decided to leave the traffic and hustle and bustle of Washington and move back to South Dakota where they established residence in Rapid City. He has been an active Kiwanian, and a dedicated lay member of the Rapid City Congregational United Church of Christ.

Oscar is survived by his two married children, David and Linda (Barker), four married grandchildren: Aimee, Shane, Stefanie, and Saxby....and 6 great grandchildren: Emilie, Frederick, Ridge, Charlotte, Nash, and Isabel.

There will be small family gathering at Isabel, SD at a later date. Arrangements are with Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home.