Oscar Frederick Krumdieck

Oscar Frederick Krumdieck April 21, 1928 - August 12, 2025

Our beloved Dad lived a long and full life.  Oscar was born between Chatfield and Stewartville, Minnesota to Louis and Clara Krumdieck where he joined brothers Walt, Carl, and Elmer.  A year after Oscar was born, Dorothy came along and a few years later their last child was named Ken.  They were a farming family and used to move from farm to farm which included different schools each time.  The children did walk to school in six feet of snow or were given a ride on a bobsled pulled by horses.

When Oscar was 11 years old, his family moved to Eugene, Oregon in search of land they could purchase.  They settled on 60 acres near "Hungry Hill" off of Royal Avenue.  As the years went by, Oscar's older brothers joined the military and the family moved closer to the Eugene city limits.  Oscar graduated from Eugene High School in 1946.  He met his future wife, Ginny, at a school dance.  Oscar worked at several jobs while in high school and one of them was at Seymour's Cafe where he rode his bicycle each day.  Oscar and the love of his life, Ginny, were married in 1947.

Oscar was working at a local mill when he thought there must be an easier job to earn money.  He and two of his brothers, under the name of Krumdieck Bros., built a few houses before Oscar said he needed to build a home for his wife and newborn son, Larry.  First, they built the "garage house".  Oscar remembers returning to the mill occasionally to earn more money so they could continue buying supplies to build their main house.  After that was finished, their second child, Cathy, was born.  Two year later, Marlene joined the family.  Krumdieck Bros. bought land to build houses off of Cal Young Rd. on what is now known as Happy Lane named after Oscar's family dog.  Their fourth child, Steve, was born on the day the family moved into their Happy Lane house.  Just a few years later, their fifth and last child, Julie, was born.  More subdivisions were bought and many more houses were built.  Besides custom homes, Krumdieck Bros. built several apartments, townhouses, office buildings, commercial properties and three churches.  One of the first apartments was built near the University of Oregon named Clair Lu after his parents and it is still in use to this day.  After his brothers retired, Oscar continued seeing clients helping them make their custom homes a reality under the name of K & K Builders until he eventually retired.

Oscar and Ginny were active members of the Lutheran Church for many years.  They became strong supporters of mental health as their youngest son, Steve, was diagnosed with Schizophrenia.  They were among the Founding Members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).  Oscar and Ginny always found time to enjoy trips to sunny destinations such as Redding, Palm Springs, Reno and Hawaii.  They thoroughly enjoyed dancing with each other whether it was the Waltz or Square Dancing and anything in between.  In his younger years, Oscar looked like the actor Lloyd Bridges from the television show Sea Hunt.  We gave our Dad a hard time when he walked out of the movie, "West Side Story" because he didn't think a musical drama would ever be good.  Dad had season tickets to the Ducks' basketball and football games.  His son, Larry, and his daughter, Julie, would accompany him as often as they could and Dad loved having them there.  Dad took his family camping during the summer in a huge tent and led his kids on many hikes so mom could take a nap.  Dad surprised his family with a trip to Disneyland on an airplane in the early 1960's.  Every Christmas morning, he would open the door to the upstairs bedrooms and loudly say "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas".  One Christmas the kid in Oscar came out.  We drew names out of a sack and were to buy that person an inexpensive gift.  Unbeknownst to us, Dad drew his own name.  He had so much fun buying himself a gift, wrapping it, and putting it under the tree.  When the time came to unwrap those gifts, Dad had a grin on his face when he unwrapped a brand new set of golf clubs.  It was hard not to laugh even when Mom told us to not encourage him.  He was a great son, husband and father.  We never could have asked for a better Dad.

Oscar said goodbye to his wife of 70 years knowing he would see her again.  He continued to live in their house managing trips to the store, cooking for himself, getting to his doctor appointments on time, going to his favorite restaurants for dinner, getting haircuts, driving around the outskirts of Eugene and seeing the new tall buildings being built around campus.  He would spend hours reading books on his tablet.  He was happy when all of his family would gather at his home where much laughter could be heard and stories re-told.

Being 97 wasn't always easy.  Macular Degeneration and other issues convinced the kids that Dad needed additional help.  His youngest daughter, Julie and her husband, Scott, helped him on a daily basis for the past two years and could see a decline in his  physical and mental abilities.  Dad had been independent for a long time so convincing him to move was a bit difficult.  After a visit to Waterford Grand Assisted Care and Memory Center Dad, accompanied by his kids, agreed to the move.  Dad lived in an assisted care apartment for a few months and, then, was moved to memory care.  By that time, his tired brain and heart were ready to rest.  He was transferred to McKenzie Willamette to spend his last couple of days surrounded by family.  A few minutes after midnight, our hardworking, funny, loving Dad passed away and into the arms of his wife and youngest son, Steve.  Dad's family gave many thanks to the staff at Waterford who treated him with kindness, patience and love.  The gals at the reception desk remembered Oscar's family members' names and greeted them with smiles.

Oscar will be immensely missed by his surviving children: Larry (Mary Jo) Krumdieck, Cathy (David) Freedman, Marlene (Len) VanCurler, and Julie (Scott) McColl.  He was preceded in death by his youngest son, Steve.  Oscar enjoyed spending time with his three grandchildren: Eric (Patty) VanCurler, Erin VanCurler (Emma Johnson), and Brett (Alyssa) McColl and three great-grandchildren: Emilia VanCurler, Amon Richards and Mira Richards.

A private family gathering was held prior to Oscar's internment at West Lawn Memorial Park in Eugene, Oregon.  If you wish to contribute in Oscar's memory, please mail to NAMI Oregon, 147 SE 102nd Ave., Portland, Oregon 97216 or online at namior.org.  Oscar thanks you.