Ernest January Osowski , age 91, of Grand Forks, ND, passed away on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Valley Senior Living on Columbia in Grand Forks.

Ernest was born on September 19,1934 to Bruno and Stella (Ebertowski) Osowski in Walsh County, ND. He received his education at the Warsaw Country School. In 1957, he was drafted into the United States Army serving both in the United States and Germany as a Medic. Upon returning stateside, he worked various jobs including managing the American Legion Club. He was a bus driver and maintenance man for the Park River School District. In 1965, he met and married Karen Shipley at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Devils Lake, ND on August 18th, 1965. They resided in Park River, ND where he co-owned Standard Oil gas station with his brother-in-law, Paul Wilkes, while at the same time he received his journeyman's license to become an electrician at Samson Electric. While in Park River, they had 4 children: Robyn, Denise, Jaymes and Brian. In the summer of 1975, moved to Cando, ND and continued with his electrician job at Olson Electric. While in Cando, he joined the Knights of Columbus at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He was also a member of the American Legion. He resided in Cando until 1986, when he moved to Grand Forks and continued his work as an electrician. Upon retiring from his electrical career, he worked various jobs in Grand Forks, finding it hard to retire.

Throughout his lifetime, he enjoyed square dancing, playing cards, bowling, hunting and fishing. He loved watching sports, especially baseball- the Boston Red Sox were his favorite team, football- the Packers was the team he cheered for, and he liked watching hockey and basketball- cheering for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. He also enjoyed doing puzzles- jigsaw and crosswords, putting model ships together and was an avid bird watcher.

He is survived by his wife, Karen (Shipley) Osowski, his children Robyn (Mike) Bergum from Eau Claire, WI, Denise Osowski from Grand Forks, ND, Jaymes Osowski from Bismarck, ND and Brian (Debbi) Osowski from Fargo, ND.  He is also survived by 6 grandchildren-Nicholas, Samantha, and Gabrielle Bergum, Abigail (Levi) Rickert, Meghan and Kate Osowski and 2 great-grandchildren-Jeffery and Bennett Rickert.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Bruno and Stella (Ebertowski) Osowski. He is also preceded in death by all of his sisters and a brother, and several nieces and nephews.

Family requests donations in lieu of flowers be sent to the Alzheimer's Association, Grand Forks office, 1375 South Columbia Road, Suite C1 Grand Forks, ND 58201.

Mass of Christian Burial: 2:30 p.m. Friday May 15, 2026, in St. Michael's Catholic Church in Grand Forks, ND.
Visitation: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, May 14, 2026, with a 4:30 p.m. Recitation of the Rosary and 7:00 p.m. Vigil Service in the Norman Funeral Home.  Visitation will continue for one hour prior to the liturgy in the church on Friday.
Knights of Columbus Honor Guard: Accorded by members of the Bishop Provencher Assembly 1578.
Military Honors: Accorded by members of the American Legion Post 157, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3817 and the North Dakota Army National Guard.
Burial: Memorial Park North Cemetery, Grand Forks, ND