OSBORNE, John “Oz” William
February 27, 1950 – November 4, 2024
Our hearts were broken when our much-loved husband, Dad, Papa, sibling, uncle, father-in-law, son-in-law, and brother-in-law passed away after months of ill health. John is survived by his wife, Margaret, daughters Allison (Greg Visser), Stephanie (Mike DeVries), mother-in-law, Virginia Duncan (Placerville, CA), sister, Bonnie Arnold (Scarborough, ON), sisters-in-law, Sharon Osborne (Newcastle, ON), Jinx (Randy) Hawker (Medford, OR), Julie (Rick) Dyer (Placerville, CA), Miriam (David) Bolster (Camino, CA) and brother-in-law, Fred (Kathleen) Hall (Camino, CA), and numerous nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews in Ontario, California, Oregon, Nevada and Michigan.
Pre-deceased by his parents William and Mary (McKinlay) Osborne, beloved brother, Neil and father-in-law, Samuel Hall.
He was so proud of his daughters, Allison and Stephanie, and their spouses Greg and Mike, however the greatest loves of his life were his grandchildren, Juliet and Theron Visser, and Eden and Jocelyn DeVries. He deeply regretted he would not get to watch them grow up.
John grew up, in the East York area of Toronto, following and playing several sports, especially baseball, golf and hockey. He played summer baseball for leagues in Toronto, Stratford, ON, Edmonton and, eventually, for the Barrhead Blue Jays. After graduating from East York Collegiate and one year at University of Toronto, he was recruited to play baseball for Yavapai College (YC) in Prescott, AZ. After two years at YC, he continued playing baseball, then working as a graduate assistant, at the University of Nevada-Reno. He was a member of the Canadian National baseball team in 1971-73, 1975, and 1977 playing in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Mexico City as well as the Continental Cup in Quebec. In 1976, John and Margaret were married and began their long teaching careers with the County of Barrhead/Pembina Hills School Division. From 1979-1981, John returned to the U.S. to work as a graduate assistant for his YC baseball Coach/Mentor Gary Ward at Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, where he received his master’s degree. He would go on to teach junior high Phys. Ed. and Science for 28 years. He was a fixture at the Barrhead Golf Course, often playing over one hundred rounds each summer. Many have heard how in 2010 he got three hole-in-ones in a span of seven weeks.
Our sincere thanks to the amazing care he received from Dr. Kevin Visser, the nurses, hospital staff and palliative care personnel at BHCC. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating directly to Barrhead Healthcare Center Auxiliary, in memory of John, 4815 51st Ave., Barrhead, T7N 1M1 or to Barrhead Minor Baseball Assoc. E-transfers can be sent to [email protected] or cheques can be made out to Barrhead Minor Baseball Association.
A service to celebrate John’s life will be held on Monday, November 25th, 2024, 1:00 p.m., at Rose Garden Chapel, Barrhead. Please go to Rose Garden Chapel website for Livestreaming details on John’s obituary.
