July 11, 1953- September 1, 2021
Denver was a beloved husband, dad, brother and son. He was a loyal friend, adored football and baseball coach, devoted man of God and honorary garage karaoke hall of fame singer. He was loved by his community and feared by owners of all-you-can-eat shrimp and lobster restaurants. Born in Ashland, KY to Lillian Saunders and Roy Osborne Jr, he was the middle of three sons, eldest being Cecil and youngest, Roger. He met the love of his life at the Sonoma County fair when he was just 17, and that love at first sight turned into 49 beautiful years of marriage, three amazing children and three precious grandchildren.
From humble beginnings working in grocery stores, as a butcher, and deli manager, Denver had bigger dreams for himself and his family. In 1997, Denver and Becky, along with their two youngest kids, took the plunge from small town living and moved to Bakersfield, CA, where they purchased and managed their first business, Maaco Auto Painting and Bodyworks. The business was a great success due to Denver’s natural talent for management, incredible work ethic and unwavering determination. The family quickly moved up the ladder from a tiny apartment across the street from the Valley Plaza mall, to a beautiful home in Seven Oaks.
During his 7 years owning Maaco, he turned a failing body shop into a million dollar a year franchise, all while mentoring other business owners and employees along the way. Though the success of owning his own business was a dream come true, he missed the beauty of the mountains and the freedom to fish whenever he wanted. So, he and Becky moved back to the same house in Oakhurst, where they had raised their family so many years before. Retirement wasn’t a word in Denver’s vocabulary, and after moving back to Oakhurst, he had many more business adventures including owning and operating ServPro Fire and Water Restoration for 9 years and working at Chuckchansi Casino managing the many restaurants’ food orders. On top of his own businesses, Denver was always there to lend a hand, tractor or cement mixer, to anyone in need.
Denver is survived by his wife, Becky Osborne, sons Kevin and Danny Osborne, daughter Heather Sneed, daughters-in-law Tracy Osborne and Sheryl Metheney, son-in-law Mike Ballachino, grand-sons Bryan and Christian Osborne, grand-daughter Aurora Metheney, brother Roger Osborne and mother Lillian Saunders. He was greeted in Heaven by his brother Cecil Osborne, son-in-law Austin Sneed, father and mother-in-law Jake and Beverly Orner and father Roy Osborne.
Services for Denver will be held on Monday, September 13th at 1:00pm at the Oakhurst Church of Christ 50887 Rd 632 Oakhurst, CA 93644. To quote Denver’s favorite Rolling Stones song “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.” Denver was a constant reminder of what was really important in life and will be missed by all who met him and all who sampled his homemade peach cobbler.
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