Wendell was born on January 9, 1941 in Bluffton, Indiana. Wendell was preceded in death by his parents Herman and Golda Osborn and sister Sharon (Stan) Merrill. Wendell is survived by his wife Sandra Osborn, his daughter Babette (Glenn) Whorley, and son Jeffery (Tami) Osborn, his sister Marilyn Barnett and brother, Bruce (Gloria) Osborn. His family legacy grew to seven grandchildren, Jessica (Nick) Johnson, Nicholas Whorley, Andrew (Nicole) Whorley, Brittany (Cody) Harmon, Courtney (Kory) Barnes, Logan Osborn and Luke Osborn. Wendell also is survived by eight great grandchildren, Kamryn, Carly and Ivy Johnson; Knox, Cruz and Rowe Harmon; Ensley and Ada Barnes.
Wendell graduated from Chester Center High School in Poneto, Indiana in 1959. He married his high school sweetheart Sandra, who he met in the first grade. Wendell and Sandra (daughter of Samuel and Waneta Cooper) were married at the Friends Church in Keystone, Indiana on August 5, 1961. Wendell and Sandra just celebrated 63 years of marriage.
Wendell graduated from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana in January, 1963 receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy. Wendell had a career in the agriculture field as a sales representative for agriculture chemicals as well as running the family business; Osborn Certified Seed and Osborn Ag Products and was a farmer in Wells County, Indiana for many years. His love of agriculture transpired into landscaping his home in Mesa which he maintained until he passed away.
Wendell was a sports fan and loved watching basketball; with an avid interest in Purdue and the Phoenix Suns. He enjoyed sports and played basketball, volleyball and golf and enjoyed water skiing, boating, hiking and hunting. He also restored an antique truck and tractor and enjoyed driving them in the Bluffton Street Fair. Wendell and Sandra were also blessed to share a long life of travel to many locations in America and around the world.
Wendell became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints in Snowflake, Arizona in 2004. Wendell and Sandra were sealed in the Snowflake Temple for Time and All Eternity in 2005. They moved to Mesa, Arizona in 2011 and are members of the Boulder Mountain Ward in Mesa. Wendell held many callings throughout the past twenty years in the church.
Wendell was a recipient of a living kidney donation from his Bishop in 2014. He had a great life for ten additional years and shared many family moments that included the addition of seven of his great grandchildren. The family would like to suggest memorial donations to a kidney foundation of your choice in lieu of flowers so that others may have this opportunity.
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, September 13, 2024. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM, followed by the Funeral Service from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM at the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 10036 E Brown Road, Mesa, AZ 85207. A luncheon will follow at the same location.
Burial Services will be held on Saturday September 21, 2024 at 10:00 AM at McFarren Cemetery, 1300 West 500 South, Bluffton, Indiana. Wendell will be laid to rest near his parents, sister and brother-in-law, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Burial services will be preceded over by his lifelong Chester Center friend, Reverend Timothy Apt of Athens, Alabama. Burial will be arranged by Walker & Glancy Funeral Home, Montpelier, Indiana.
All are welcome to join the family and friends as we celebrate the life of Wendell J Osborn at both services.
