Obituary for Thomas E. Osborn

Thomas Eugene Osborn age 79 of rural Forest, died at Wyandot County Skilled Nursing & Rehab Center on August 27, 2025 at 2:54 a.m. He was born January 1, 1946, to the late Jesse H. and Rosemary (Billings) Osborn in Sycamore Township, Wyandot County, Ohio.

Tom married Linda Leader, and they later divorced. He then married Mary E. Fox on July 7, 2000, at Wesley Chapel Methodist Church, and she survives in rural Forest. Also surviving are his children Justin A. (Jill) Osborn, Jocelyn A. (Kevin) Montgomery, Joshua A. (Kimberly) Osborn, and Jonathan A. (Jennifer) Osborn, along with grandchildren Connor Osborn, Sydney Osborn, Gabriel Osborn, Logan Osborn, Hannah Colich, Morgan Colich, Aiden Osborn, Caitlin Osborn, Zachary Osborn, Avery Osborn and Caroline Osborn. He is also survived by a brother William W. (Nancy Lenhart) Osborn, brothers-in-law Franklin (Karen) Fox, Daniel E. (Judy) Fox, David E. (Tina) Fox and James E. Fox.

He was preceded in death by his brothers Guy R. Osborn and Michael G. Osborn, and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Paul E. Fox and Anna M. Fox.

Tom was a 1964 graduate of Mohawk High School, a 1972 graduate of Baldwin Wallace College with a BA in History and Political Science, and a 1975 graduate of Ohio Northern University College of Law with a Juris Doctorate degree. He began his practice as an attorney in Wapakoneta, Ohio, and then returned to his hometown of Sycamore to open a law practice in 1977. He was an attorney with Osborn Co., L.P.A. and Osborn and Fox Co., L.P.A. for many years.

In 1985 Tom was elected to the bench as Judge of the Upper Sandusky Municipal Court. He served as judge of that Court for 32 years until his retirement in December, 2017. During his professional career Tom was a member of the Wyandot County Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association and the Association of Municipal/County Judges of Ohio.

Tom honorably served his country in the United States Air Force in Vietnam and was stationed at the Bien Hoa Air Base when it was attacked in January, 1968 during the Tet Offensive. He was a life member of the VFW Post 2842 and served for many years on the Wyandot County Historical Society Board. He was a former member of the Sycamore United Church of Christ and currently attended Wesley Chapel Methodist Church.

Tom loved the outdoors and waited with anticipation each year for fall to come so that he could join his family and hunting buddies in their pursuit of deer at their hunting cabin. As the years passed, he also returned to hunting his childhood prey of squirrel and rabbits, and expanded into turkey hunting. Whether he was using a gun or crossbow, Tom said he never felt closer to God than when he was in the woods enjoying the peace and solitude he found there.

Tom also loved to fish and spent many years traveling to Canada with family and friends for annual fishing trips. It was during one of these many trips that he visited Castlebar Lake in Longlac, Ontario. Those visits would prove to be the doorway to a 20 year adventure where he joined a group of his friends in purchasing and running a fishing/moose hunting camp.

From encountering moose in the lane, to bear on the deck, to catching that monster pike, to riding 4-wheelers over the logging trails, to watching the sun set over the lake, where he swore no other sky had such brilliant colors as the ones over Castlebar, he was able to enjoy his beloved outdoors. Ultimately though, he was never happier than when he could share his love of the outdoors with his family, especially his grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 6, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in the Bringman Clark Funeral Home, Upper Sandusky, Ohio, with Pastor Betsy Bowen officiating. Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery with military honors conducted by the Upper Sandusky Veterans Color Guard.

Visitation will be held Friday, September 5, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Wyandot County Pheasants Forever (Youth Events), Wesley Chapel Methodist Church or Gideons International in care of Bringman Clark

Funeral Home 226 E. Wyandot Ave. Upper Sandusky, OH 43351. Visit www.BringmanClark.com to
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