Wendell T. Osborne

God called Wendell Theodore Osborne, 98, of Carmel Valley, California, to rest on the evening of Saturday, June 13, 2026. Wendell was born in Almirante, Bocas del Toro, Panamá on May 8, 1928. He was the fourth of nine children, the eldest of three sons. Prior to his first birthday, Wendell’s parents moved the family to Puerto Armuelles and later to La Concepción, Chiriquí (Panamá). He attended elementary church school and high school in Puerto Armuelles and La Concepción (Panamá). He attended college at Colegio Vocacional de Alajuela, Costa Rica (where he met his wife), Colegio Industrial Panameño, and Columbia Union College (now, Washington Adventist University) in Takoma Park, Maryland. He immigrated to the United States on April 9, 1956, to pursue educational opportunities for himself and his family.

God blessed Wendell with a long and fulfilling career as a professional photographer beginning with a successful photographic studio in Almirante, Bocas del Toro, Panamá, moving on to portrait photography in the Washington, D.C. area, and culminating as a photograph conservator at the Library of Congress. He also specialized in landscape and botanical photography. He enrolled in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Professional Photography shortly after immigrating to the U.S., earning certifications in Portrait Photography, Commercial Photography, and Photojournalism. For advanced study in photography, he attended Winona School of Professional Photography in Winona, Indiana, earning certifications in Commercial and Industrial Photography, Color Processing and Photo Enhancement, Adult and Child Portraiture, and Wedding Photography. Highlights from his career as a photographer included serving as the official photographer for the World Air Transportation Show at Dulles International Airport in 1972, serving some of the Washington, D.C. dignitaries as a professional photographer in the 1960s and 1970s, and having his commercial photography published weekly in Washingtonion Magazine and other local commercial publications in the Washington, D.C. area.

In addition to photography, Wendell enjoyed chemistry, swimming, cycling, traveling, listening to classical and choral music, and being in nature. Being a lover of music, he studied piano and the B♭ Euphonium, a tenor-voiced brass instrument. Wendell also loved to sing, joined school and church choirs, and was excited to have been invited to join the Howard University Choir, under the direction of the late Dr. Robert Shaw, in a concert with the National Symphony Orchestra at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Family and faith were top priorities for Wendell. He was a faithful member of Sligo Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church since January 1972, proudly having served as an elder, Sabbath School teacher and, in retirement, a volunteer staff member in the church office. During his retirement years, Wendell also provided volunteer service as a bilingual chaplain at Washington Adventist Hospital. From 1957 to 1971, he was an active member of Dupont Park SDA Church, was ordained as a lay pastor, served as first elder under two pastors, a Sabbath School teacher, and first tenor in the church choir. In keeping with a strong commitment to his faith, Wendell left instructions for “. . . a funeral service uplifting God and His faithfulness, and burial in a simple pine casket in accordance with Jewish custom.”

Wendell was a loving father, caring brother, doting grandfather and uncle, and devoted son who considered it a privilege and gift to serve as his mother’s primary caregiver in Panamá in her final years. He is survived by his wife, Cora M. Peters-Hay Osborne. Wendell’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, great-grand-nieces and nephews, extended family members and friends hold his memory deep in their hearts giving thanks for the love that was shared.

A visitation will be held at Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church, 7700 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912, US, on August 2, 2026, at 12:00 pm, followed by a funeral service at Sligo Seventh Day Adventist Church, 7700 Carroll Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland 20912, on August 2, 2026, at 1:00 pm. The service will be streamed live via the church website https://sligochurch.org/

Burial will take place at National Harmony Memorial Park, 7101 Sheriff Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20785, US, on August 3, 2026, at 10:30 am.