Matilde M. Osterhaus

Matilde Marie Irene Gertrude (!) Osterhaus McCuistion was born in Mannheim, Germany, on February 6, 1892, to Alexander Osterhaus (b. Aug 16 1855) and Marie Stebinger (b. May 31 1866). She and her brother and sisters lived with their parents in Germany until 1905, when she and her brother Hans made the trip by boat, under the supervision of a crew member, to join their father in Lebanan, Illinois. He had immigrated after his family coal business in Germany had failed. They remained with their father until he moved to the Los Angeles area of California, a few years later, at which time their mother and sisters joined them and the family was reunited.

Matilde went to a Normal School (like a junior college) in Los Angeles and graduated with a teaching degree. Much to the dismay of her mother, her adventurous spirit led her to accept a teaching position in Montello, Nevada, in 1912. She taught in Montello and also on the McCuistion ranch, where she met and married James Fay McCuistion in June of 1914. As a note of interest, during that time her sister Marie visited her and was introduced to Fay's brother, Horace, which meeting also resulted in a marriage. Tilde quit teaching and became a fulltime housewife after her first child Betty was born in 1917. A second child, James Fay, Jr., was born in 1920, but lived only three years, dying of diphtheria. Shortly after his death, Fay was transferred to Carlin, Nevada, and a third child, Robert, was born in April of 1926.

In 1934, when Fay was reassigned from Carlin to Montello, Tilde brought Betty and Robert to Reno, so Betty could attend the University of Nevada. She graduated in 1937, at which time Tilde and Robert returned to Carlin for a year to rejoin her husband before he was promoted to Train Master and assigned to Sparks, Nevada.

Tilde was a very independent, strong-willed and self-confident woman, who brought a little "big city sophistication" with her to the small towns of Nevada. She enjoyed reading tremendously, and in addition to books, there were magazines like the New Yorker and Vogue, which were not usual fare in the Nevada "outback". Also, since Fay's employment kept him on the road a great deal, she found enjoyment as a member of the Century Club, various bridge groups, and a multitude of good friends.

After Fay's death in 1953, Tilde bought a home in Reno and took refresher courses at the University of Nevada, to reactivate her teaching credentials. She taught in Reno until she reached the age of 65, at which time retirement was then mandatory in Reno. Since she was not ready for retirement at that age, she moved to Escondido, California, and taught there on conditional year-to-year contracts for another ten years.

After a bad fall in 1981, Betty and Robert persuaded her to return to Reno, where she continued to live independently until her daughter Betty returned to Reno. They eventually shared an apartment until her death on October 25, 1985, at 93 years of age.