Obituary of Lawrence R. Oster, Jr.

We are saddened to announce the passing of Lawrence R. Oster, Jr., “Papa” of Linn Creek, Missouri, on Tuesday, July 4th, 2023. He was 83 years old. Larry passed away peacefully at home.

Larry was born on August 4th, 1939, in St Louis, Missouri. He is preceded in death by his parents Lawrence and Marie and his two sisters, Shirley and Mary Ann and his beloved dog “Smokey.”

Larry was united in marriage to his beautiful wife, Judy, on September 1st, 1977. They shared more than 45 amazing years together. 

In his early years, Larry was a sheet metal worker with the Local 36 in St. Louis, Missouri and then became a real estate agent for over 40 years at the Lake of the Ozarks.

He is survived by his wife, Judy Oster, of Linn Creek, Missouri, his daughter Jennifer Schmidt (Mike) of Camdenton, his son Mark Oster (Kari) of Osage Beach, his daughter Lauren Qualls (Rob) of Carmel, Indiana, and his son Scott Lynch of Des Plaines, Illinois. Papa loved his incredible grandchildren, Nick Schmidt (Brooke), Justin Schmidt, Lacey Schmidt, Luke Oster (Hannah), Makenna Oster-Blough (Zach), and his great grandchildren, Preston and Carter Schmidt. He treasured them so much. He also loved his niece, Lisa and nephews, Steve, Brian, and Danny.

He was a wonderful husband, father, papa, brother, uncle, and friend to many. He loved to grill out, watch westerns, listen to music, go on float trips, take the kids to the park and pool, watch fireworks on the 4th of July and enjoyed tennis and golf. He loved attending his grandchildren’s activities and cheering them on. He was so proud of each and everyone of them.

There will be a visitation/memorial service on Tuesday, July 11th from 4:00pm-6:00pm at Hedges-Scott Funeral Home at 1270 South Business Highway 5, Camdenton, Missouri.

In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to St. Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri in Larry’s honor. He followed along the journey with his youngest great-grandson, Carter while at St. Louis Children’s when Carter was having his bone marrow transplant in 2020-2021. He will now watch over his oldest great-grandson Preston, as he begins his bone marrow transplant journey in August. Larry was a great man and will be missed by all who knew him.