Osuld Torrison Bredesen (1893-1958)

Portrait from the Sheboygan Press, April 8, 1937.

   For many years a distinguished figure in the city of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Osuld Torrison Bredesen was a decorated veteran of the First World War who served as Judge of the Municipal Court of Manitowoc for fifteen years. Born in Stoughton, Wisconsin on August 16, 1893, Osuld T. Bredesen was the son of the Rev. Adolph (1850-1913) and Inanda Torrison Bredesen (1857-1914). Bredesen would inherit his unusual first and middle names courtesy of his maternal grandfather Osuld Torrison (1828-1892), a prominent merchant in the early days of Manitowoc.
   Osuld T. Bredesen removed with his family to Manitowoc in 1911 and was later employed by the O. Torrison Co. as a credit manager. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Second Division during WWI, Bredesen was wounded in action at the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918. His injuries proved so severe he was unable to return to active duty, and he was subsequently hospitalized at Camp Barry in Great Lakes, Illinois. During this period of recuperation, Bredesen married Mary Estelle "Stella" Engeldinger (1897-1985) in April 1920. The couple were wed for nearly forty years and became the parents to five children, including Robert Louis Bredeson (1921-1978). 
  Following his military service, Bredesen studied at the Luther College in Decorah, Iowa for a short period before resuming his studies at the Marquette University Law School. He graduated with his law degree in the class of 1924 and shortly thereafter removed to Manitowoc to establish his law practice. He continued in this practice until his election as Judge of the Municipal Court of Manitowoc in April 1933, having been elected to the bench following the retirement of Albert H. Schmidt, who had served as a judge for nearly three decades.
  Entering into his duties in May 1933, Bredesen served on the bench until his retirement in 1951. After leaving office Bredesen and his wife removed to Venice, Florida, where they resided until returning to Manitowoc a year prior to Osuld Bredesen's death, which occurred at the Maplecrest Sanitarium in Whitelaw, Wisconsin on November 10, 1958. He was survived by his wife Stella, who, following her death in 1985, was interred alongside her husband at the Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc.