Nina Romer Osberg, 81, of Plymouth, MN, passed peacefully in Orono, MN on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. When she made her passage to heaven, she felt the love and support of family by her side.

Lovingly known as Nini within her family, she made an impact on everyone she met—whether in the classroom, on a ball field, in a yoga studio, at church, on the golf course, or in the weight room.

Nini was born to Samuel and Edna Romer on December 14, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York. She spent much of her youth traveling with her parents before they settled in the Minneapolis area. Nini graduated from the Northrup School for Girls and later attended the University of Minnesota Duluth. While raising two sons, she earned a Bachelor of Science from UMD in June 1973.

Shortly thereafter, she accepted a position in the Social Studies department at Wayzata High School, where she created and implemented the FOCUS curriculum, designed to help at-risk students succeed in school and life. Nini took deep pride in the program; FOCUS helped hundreds of students turn their lives around, and she was a primary source of motivation and inspiration during a challenging time in their lives.

Nini met the love of her life, Jack Osberg, while teaching at Wayzata through a mutual friend who supported them during family and relationship challenges. They were married on November 26, 1976, blending their families—Richard, Jennifer, Peter, Jeff, and Jamie—and were later blessed with a sixth child, Anne.

Nini taught for more than 20 years at Wayzata before retiring in 1999. She became the “Lady of Augsburg” when Jack became head football coach in 1991; in that role she tutored players, joined recruiting visits, started parent booster groups, and supported the program until her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2018. Even as the disease progressed, she remained inspirational and supportive to all who crossed her path.

Though her mind eventually lost some of its characteristic clarity, Nini never lost her zest and sass for life, continuing to tease family and friends with expressive looks and tones. She entered an Alzheimer’s care facility in February 2022, where Jack visited daily, and family and friends visited and sent their love.

While she has left our physical world, we take comfort in the vision of her reunited and joyful, perhaps already keeping heaven’s entries in line.

Nina was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her devoted husband, Jack; children Richard (Diana) Osberg, Jennifer (Scott) Isaacson, Peter (Kara) Osberg, Jeff (Kris) Osberg, Jamie (Jen) Osberg, and Anne (Scott) Moore; 12 grandchildren — Grace, Johanna, Zoe, Lydia, Mason, Riley, Jayde, Emerson, Bella, Lilly, Ben, and Nick — and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials will be distributed to The Alzheimer’s Association and Augsburg University; institutions that were important to both Nini and Jack.

Nini, God bless you — you will be missed greatly by everyone you touched.

Visitation will be held at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church, 17205 County Road 6, Plymouth, MN on June 11, 2026 4-7 pm. Memorial service will be held at St Philip on June 12th at 1 pm. Visitation begins 1 hour prior to the service with reception immediately after.