2003 Assembly Joint Resolution 84
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: the life and public service of Byron C. Ostby.
Whereas, Byron C. Ostby was born on August 17, 1924, in Superior, Wisconsin, and died on April 28, 2003, in Madison, Wisconsin; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby was educated in the Superior public schools; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby served his country in the U.S. navy during World War II from 1943 to 1946; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1946 where he received his B.S. degree in 1949 and his J.D. degree in 1951 from the UW Law School; and
Whereas, he married Helen Barbara Wear on September 8, 1951; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby was elected to the Wisconsin assembly in 1948 representing the first district of Douglas County and served in the 1949 and 1951 sessions; and
Whereas, during his tenure in the assembly, he served on the Committee on Education and the Committee on Judiciary; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby was appointed by Governor Walter Kohler, Jr., to the delegation of Wisconsin legislators participating in the 1951 recommissioning of the USS Wisconsin (BB-64); and
Whereas, much of Mr. Ostby's life focused on service to the country of Norway, and he was appointed to the Madison-Oslo Sister City Committee in 1964; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby was appointed honorary consul of Norway for the state of Wisconsin by King Olav V on June 13, 1967, and granted an exequatur by President Lyndon Johnson on November 29, 1967; and
Whereas, he was bestowed the honor of being the 3rd family member awarded the Knights Cross First Class, Royal Order of St. Olav in 1976; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby, serving as consul of Norway, acted as host to Norwegian dignitaries who visited the Madison area, and hosted exchange visits of the Madison-Oslo Sister City Program; and
Whereas, after serving for more than 29 years as consul of Norway, Mr. Ostby retired from the position; and
Whereas, after his tenure in the Wisconsin legislature, Mr. Ostby was appointed by Governor Tommy G. Thompson in 1988 to the governor's Commission on the Second Recommissioning of the USS Wisconsin and invited by the Navy League to participate in the final cruise of this great battleship in 1991; and
Whereas, Mr. Ostby was executive director for the Wisconsin Railroad Association from 1961 until his retirement in 1991; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the devoted public service that Byron C. Ostby contributed to this state and his community, express their sorrow at his death, and extend their condolences to his family and friends; and, be it further
Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall provide copies of this joint resolution to Mr. Ostby's 2 daughters, Laurie Kehler of Half Moon Bay, California, and Signe Cook of Woodside, California, and to his son, David Ostby of Madison, Wisconsin.
