R. Ossenberg

R. Martin Ossenberg, 84, of Winston-Salem, NC, unexpectedly passed away on Sunday, May 16 surrounded by loved ones.

Martin was born the third of seven children in Germany in 1936. He emigrated to the US in 1959 where he met his wife Irene of 58 years in New York City.  He served in the United States Airforce at Shepherd AFB. After a few years in Texas and one daughter, they settled in Upstate, NY and had a second daughter. There he worked in the petroleum industry which inspired him to create his own construction company. He was passionate in building custom homes, fuel tank farms, gas stations, and other challenging projects.

He was particularly proud of his grandchildren and loved creek walks, teaching them how to drive various construction equipment, shooting firearms, ice cream runs, fishing, using the tractor to pull them on sleds in the snow, and just having them around. He also enjoyed working on various renovations with his son-in-law, Larry. He may have told Larry when they first met he was only good enough to hold a clipboard, but Martin soon realized what a good team they made.

Though technically retired at 72, Martin never stopped working. He would often help out his daughters with home renovations and he could be seen involved in various projects for friends and family; installing bathrooms, maintaining boilers, and waterproofing the basement at his church in NY to name a few.  Tired of the snow and cloudy days they moved to Winston-Salem in 2019. Wanting to stay active, his son-in-law Wesley, gladly gave him a to do list. He continued to assist in numerous projects around his current church home in Winston-Salem. His last job was replacing a roof on a dog kennel.

He is survived by his wife, Irene, two daughters Kerstin Walker (Wesley) of NC and Michele Brice (Larry) of PA, and three grandchildren, (Lisa, Jen, and Jarod), his sister Ursula of Germany and brother Wieland of Australia.

Services will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Winston-Salem, NC on Friday, May 21 at 11 am. Memorials may be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2415 Silas Creek Pkwy, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.