Howard Osterer, a well-known Centretown resident and fixture of baseball communities in Canada and Israel, died on Nov. 11. He was 59.
Osterer collapsed from what was believed to be a stroke while umpiring a youth baseball game in Gezer, Israel, the Canadian Jewish News reported.
Osterer moved to Jerusalem around 2000 after his children were grown, and became the regional director for the Israel Association of Baseball, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
As a young man, Osterer was a star athlete and a defensive tackle for Ottawa Sooners of the Canadian Junior Football League, reported an Ottawa Journal article from 1974.
While Osterer’s death has impacted baseball groups in Israel, his legacy and family history can still be found in Centretown.
An old, dingy sign that reads “Osterer’s” sits on the corner of Florence and Lyon streets. The sign has no connection to the naturopathic and homeopathic medicine clinic behind it; before 136 Florence St. became a destination for greater well-being, it was a standard stop-and-go convenience store run by Leo Osterer, Howard’s grandfather.
The elder Osterer had acquired the location from a Chinese immigrant in 1927, reported an Ottawa Journal article from 1968. Before it became Osterer’s Corner Store and later Osterer’s Confectionary, it was a laundry service.
Leo Osterer had immigrated to Canada from Austria when he was only 19 years old. The only things he had with him were the clothes on his back and 10 US dollars, the Journal said.
Howard’s father, Joe, eventually took over Osterer’s Confectionary from his father, while also running a soda drink service and a party supplies shop.
Even though the Osterers had made a name for themselves in Centretown, Leo had always imagined seeing the rest of the world.
“Someday, he hopes to visit Israel, the Jewish homeland, to meet some of his kinfolk,” the 1968 profile said.
Like his father, Joe had a close connection to the community, and attended Kent Public School and Agudath Israel Congregation.
Howard attended Fisher Park High School in the city’s west end.
Osterer leaves behind five children.