Jean Petersen Osterle

At the age of 95, a few weeks before her 96th birthday, Jean Osterle of Squirrel Hill passed away peacefully on August 20, 2025. A Depression era baby, Brooklyn born and bred, raised during WWII, Jean was among the last of the Greatest Generation. A leather tough graduate of the school of hard knocks, Jean was nevertheless sensitive to beauty, truth and order. A strong willed woman, Jean was ahead of her time. She made practical common sense her close companion; she sought deeper knowledge out as a friend. Jean tirelessly educated her extended family in the business of living. And she was a good teacher. Jean is survived by her daughter, Anne Osterle Goggin; son, John Peter Osterle; daughter-in-law, Laura Blair Osterle; son-in-law, David Goggin; and grandchildren, Mark Fletcher Goggin, Sarah Anne Osterle, and Thomas Blair Osterle. Jean was preceded in death by her husband, Fletcher Osterle, sister Lila Gorring of Washingtons Crossing, PA; and her infant grandson, Charles Oliver Goggin. Jean was born and raised in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn New York. She graduated from Hunter College in 1951 with a BA in Biology and went on to receive a MA in Zoology from Mount Holyoke College in 1954. Her Master’s Thesis was entitled “Parabiosis and the Problem of Transmission and Immunity in Rats Infected with Trichinella Spiralis”. She began her professional career as an Instructor in Biological Sciences at Margaret Morrison Carnegie College (now Carnegie-Mellon University) where she taught Comparative Anatomy, Embryology, Histology, Heredity and Biology and Physiology laboratories. Jean also took summer courses in Comparative Physiology and Marine Embryology at the University of Wisconsin and Woods Hole Biological station, respectively. Jean met her husband of 57 years, Dr. Fletcher Osterle, at Carnegie-Mellon University while he was working as a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. They were married in 1959 and Jean continued to work as a Lecturer in Biological Sciences for several more years. After her career at Margaret Morrison ended, Jean worked as a docent at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for 25 years. She also volunteered for over 10 years at the Carnegie Library and “The Clothes Line”. Jean’s hobbies included gardening, ceramics, and collecting antiques. She was well known for holding a ladies pottery/lunch every Monday for over 30 years. Jean’s favorite thing to do was to spend as much time as she could with her family in Stone Harbor, New Jersey over the past 60 summers. Jean was deeply loved by her family including her three grandchildren, Mark, Sarah, and Thomas. The family is holding a Remembrance Gathering from 5 – 9 pm on Friday, August 29th. The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the wonderful women of Interim Hospice and Visiting Angels. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to your favorite charity. Arrangements by JOHN A. FREYVOGEL SONS, INC. (freyvogelfuneralhome. com).

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