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Bud Osborn - Loving Tribute

submitted
July 29, 2011

Bud Osborn

A Loving Tribute to Our Dad,

Bud N. Osborn

On July 1, 2011 our father's spirit left this earthly realm and entered into a place of indescribable beauty, peace, joy and rest. He was 90 years young. Dad was born Dec. 2, 1920 in Canutillo, Texas. Canutillo was in an area that was known as “No Man's Land.” Later the borders were established and Canutillo became part of the United States. We used to laugh and joke about whether Dad was a citizen of the U.S. or Mexico.

During the depression years, Dad and his family moved to a little place called Garden Valley in Idaho. Their home was built close to a natural hot spring which was used to help heat the home in the severe winters in that mountain region. They ran pipes from the spring under the foundation of the home and had a geothermal heating system before people talked about being “green”! He rode a horse to a one-room schoolhouse which was a few miles away. His mother would heat rocks on the stove and put them in his coat pockets to keep his hands warm, but he said they only stayed warm for a little while because it was just too cold. Arriving at school they would put their horses in a small barn and rub them down before they went into the school because the horses had worked up a healthy sweat plowing through the deep snow. If they didn't rub them down they would contract pneumonia. When Dad became a teenager, he and his brother drove an old car known as a “Franklin” to the high school which was located at the other end of the valley. He and his brother, Marion, took care of a one-acre garden during the summer months. It was hard work. They would begin early in the morning and work till it was dark. They had to haul the water to the garden as well as keep it free from weeds. There were 12 members of the family, so it took a lot of food to keep them supplied through the winter months. In 1937, the family moved back to Nyssa, Ore., where Dad graduated from high school in 1939.

Dad grew up riding horses. His favorite was a registered thoroughbred sorrel that he named Certificate Cub. She was a beautiful horse with a blaze face and four stocking feet. He enjoyed riding the bucking broncos, competing and being a rodeo clown. When we were a young family we faithfully attended the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho with Dad. He no longer participated, but loved watching the rodeo competitions and his brothers, Martin and Marion, who stayed actively involved in the rodeo there for many years.

Dad learned to box with his brothers under the tutelage of his older brother, Martin, who learned to fight by practicing on some New York fellas who were in Garden Valley with the CCC. With lots of brothers to “fight” with, Dad grew into a young man with tremendous strength and skill as a boxer. He began competing and became known as a prize fighter before he stepped away from the ring. He was known as “Buddy” Osborn.

One of his favorite times of the year was fall, because it was hunting season and he would spend several days with his brothers up on the mountain by the Lochsa River. His brothers were his best friends, his sisters he adored and his mother he worshipped. Every summer we would travel to spend time with our Osborn uncles, aunts and cousins. We loved them all!

Dad's parents were Martin William Osborn and Mary Anna Moffitt. His brothers and sisters were: Viola (Jesse) Chronister, Martin (Lucille), Lula, Leona (Ivan) Tiffany, Bert (Thaddene), Bette (Paul) Halverson, Evelyn Vivian, Marion (Goldie), Mae (Bud) Gafford, Robert (Betty), and Ross (Betty).

Dad was a fan of country and western music. We grew up with LP's of Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Hank Williams (not Jr.) and his favorite, Marty Robbins.

Dad was a drummer in a band called the “Idaho Wranglers” when he was in his 20's. He had a beautiful singing voice and would often sing the lead parts for the group. They performed for a local radio station in Ontario, Ore. once a week and played for weekend dances at Ironside, Vale, Drewsey, Ontario and Nyssa in the southeast corner of Oregon.

Dad met our mother, Joy Mitchell, at a dance where he was playing. It was love at first sight for Dad. He told his brother later that night that he “had seen the girl he was going to marry.” They were a very handsome couple. It wasn't long before they married on Sept. 12, 1950 in Ellensburg, where Dad was participating in a rodeo.

Dad liked dancing, too. We learned to dance in our living room with Daddy putting us on his feet and helping us to learn the steps and rhythms of fox trots, waltzes and the good ole' two-step. Those were such happy moments - Dad singing and dancing with us!

Dad was in the Army at Fort Lewis in Washington, where he was taught to operate large machinery and build roads and anything the Army needed at the time. That was a useful skill that became his livelihood for the next few decades. He bought two D-8 Caterpillars and scrapers and leveled a lot of land in the Columbia Basin. He worked on the Rocky Reach Dam project. In the early 1960's Dad decided to try farming as well. He loved it! He eventually sold his Cats and farmed until he retired. He was fanatical about taking good care of his equipment. Dad had an amazing work ethic. He worked long, hard hours, he was honest in his business dealings with others, and he always gave his best effort. His days began down at The Turf, meeting with his friends for coffee and talk. These were “lifetime” friends that he felt close to until he left us. We appreciate their tender care and the attention they gave Dad.

Dad worked hard, but he liked to have fun and relax, too. He enjoyed grilling and inviting neighbors and friends over for a backyard barbecue potluck. On Sundays, he liked to drive through the Cascades, going to Tumwater, Snoqualmie or Leavenworth. Going to the lake on the weekends became a summer tradition. We spent a lot of time on Lake O'Sullivan, Lake Roosevelt and Lake Chelan. Dad loved to ski and boat with family and friends. One summer, he, along with his brother, Robert, taught 34 people to ski! One summer day while we were enjoying the lake, Dad came skiing by the beach (where most of us were sitting) wearing one of his old rodeo clown outfits - a grass hula skirt, a bikini top and a baseball cap on backward! That was vintage Dad! In the winter months he would take the boat up to Lake Chelan and watch the mountain goats climbing up the cliffs there. In later years, one of his favorite places to boat was in the San Juan Islands and along Vancouver Island, B.C. He was skillful at navigating and maneuvering in bad weather and narrow passageways. We always felt safe with Dad at the helm.

Dad loved flying and took lessons as a young man. He continued throughout his life to follow and study the latest technology in the aeronautics industry. He woke us (1:17a.m. PDT) when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon on July 18, 1969 so we could watch the impressive event with him. He liked trains, also. He shared stories of how trains had been a very important part of America's history and boyhood stories of watching them roll through remote areas where he lived at the time. It was a marvel to him and his family in the early 20th century. He was fascinated with steam engines and had memorized the capabilities of what each locomotive could do and how much weight they could tow through mountain passages. He continued to follow locomotive technology clear through diesel electric days. He liked motorcycles and made many friends while on road trips. He kept everyone entertained with his jokes that he loved to tell. (One of his favorites was about teaching First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt how to make doughnuts!)

Dad never let a friend go; he kept them close to his heart, reminiscing often of the events that had brought them together. He would hear of those who were down on their luck and made it a practice to make sure that food or money would mysteriously and secretly find its way to their homes. One of our neighbors was struck with a rare terminal illness. Dad's heart hurt for his wife and children. He didn't make a lot of fanfare about it, but, he tried to help out any way he thought he could. We heard years later of things that he did that we never knew about.

Dad leaves four children: Jim (Jane) Osborn, Eden, Utah, Paulette (Wayne) Brown, Pittsburg, Texas, Ilene (John) Johnston, Moab, Utah, and Suzan (Lee) Spraktes, Riverton, Utah.

Also 12 grandchildren: Dr. Dane Osborn, Salt Lake City, Jesse Osborn, Salt Lake City, Sean Osborn, Salt Lake City, Major Rhett (Becky) Brown, Waco, Texas, Nique (Tyler) Lund, Austin, Texas, Bethany (Cory) Dietz, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Celeste (John) Russell, Azusa, Calif., Ferrol Brown, Pittsburg, Texas, Taylor (Bryce) Christiansen, Orem, Utah, Cole Spraktes, Riverton, Utah, Marissa Spraktes, Riverton, Utah, and Faith Spraktes, Riverton, Utah.

Also 11 great-grandchildren: Connie Osborn, Elizabeth Brown, Gavin Brown, Tara Brown, Evan Brown, Damyn Lund, Corbyn Lund, Taylea Lund, Teagan Dietz, Taylor Dietz, and Brenna Christiansen.

We have many memories of Dad, but the best memory of all is that we truly loved Dad and he truly loved us. We are grateful for a father-child bond that neither time, nor death, nor any individual could ever change or destroy. Till we meet again, Dad...

Lovingly,

Jim, Paulette, Ilene and Suzan