By John RittenhouseA teaching and coaching career that lasted 32 years came to an end when the 2002-03 Luverne High School closed its doors for the summer early this month.John Oksness, a member of the LHS faculty and coaching ranks for the past 22 years, retired from District No. 2184 teaching and coaching at the end of the school year.Retirement, however, is a word Oksness did not use to describe his life after LHS."I want to find something else to do," he said. "I’m looking at some things other than teaching. It’s been a good career, but now I’ll be looking for something else to do."Oksness started teaching in 1971, after studying at Minnesota and Iowa schools.Oksness was raised in the tiny town of Doran in western Minnesota, where he went to elementary school before finishing his high school education at nearby Breckenridge.After graduating from Breckenridge in 1964, Oksness attended Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, for the next four years.Oksness graduated from Luther College in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology. After deciding to pursue a teaching career, he attended Moorhead State University for one year to gain a teaching certificate.Oksness began teaching at Minnesota Lake High School in 1971, where he stayed for four years before taking a position in Hayfield for six years.When the Hayfield District started reducing its staff, Oksness’ position was cut at the end of the 1980-81 school year. The next fall, he latched onto a job in Luverne where he spent the next 22 years."I was looking for a place where I could be in a senior high type of teaching position, and Luverne had a position open in chemistry. I had been through Luverne many times when I was younger, and I always knew it was a nice town and a clean town. It’s a great place to raise a family, too."Oksness instructed ninth-grade science, chemistry and physics early in his LHS career, and spent the last few years teaching science and chemistry without science duties."I have a lot of good memories from being in the classroom," Oksness said. "I always wanted to offer a class that was challenging for the kids. Hopefully, we did a good job of preparing them for college."Oksness will also be remembered for his contributions as a coach at LHS.He was head baseball coach at LHS for two years (1983 and 1984), before stepping into the head coaching position in the golf program in 1985. He worked with prior coach Dale Knoll for one year before taking over the entire program from 1986 through 1995. Oksness was the head boys’ golf coach from 1996 to 2003.Under Oksness’ leadership, many LHS boys and girls teams, and a number of individuals, have advanced to state. He’s also worked with LHS girls’ coach Chris Nowatzki since the 1990s, helping craft a program that produced a state team championship in 2001."We had some good boys teams in the 1980s, and of course, we’ve had a lot of success on the girls’ side. I’ve enjoyed coaching with Chris," he said.Oksness also was on the football coaching staff in the late 1980s and early 90s, working as an assistant coach of Bob Osterday and Joel Swanson."Those football teams we had here in the late 1980s, when we were very successful, stand out," Oksness said. "I have a lot of good memories from coaching with Bob Osterday, Swanny, Terry Althoff and Joe Roberts. It’s hard to weigh what I’ll miss more — coaching or teaching. Both have been very important to me."With the exception of making more frequent trips to the family cabin on Ottertail Lake, Oksness plans to remain a Luverne resident for now.John and his wife, Sharon, have four children. Annie lives and works in San Francisco, Phil attends South Dakota State University, Brookings, Katie recently completed school and works at Hair LTD in Luverne. Emily, a 2003 graduate, will attend Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls this fall.Staying close to their children is important to John and Sharon Oksness, and that could lead to a change of residence in the future.
