James P. Osborne

Madison- James P. ""Jim"" Osborne passed away on Friday August 7, 2009, at St. Mary's Hospital after a 15 month battle with lung cancer, surrounded by his wife and children. He was born March 22, 1939, to Harold and Alice Osborne in the same hospital in which he passed. A true Madisonian, he went to school at Lakewood and Blessed Sacrament Elementary Schools, and Edgewood High School. He also attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned a degree in history. He married Karen Leveque Osborne in 1961 and together they have three children Daniel, Jeffrey (Janet) Osborne and Ellyn (Dan) Mohs.

In 1983 he married Karen Teske. Soon after they were married, they rebuilt a dilapidated house in the town of Westport into a lovely home in a beautiful setting, and lived there at the ""dog spa"" for 25 years with a multitude of adopted and rescued dogs of various breeds.

Jim loved life, had many interests, and touched many lives. As a boy he participated in sports such as baseball, basketball and swimming, had a paper route, served as an alter boy at Blessed Sacrament, and worked part time at Klitzner's clothing store. As a child and young man he loved the outdoors, enjoyed the challenge of whitewater canoeing, and later owned several vacation retreats in Vilas County. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, and enjoyed cutting and splitting firewood. He was an adept carpenter and handyman and used these skills both on his own homes and those of his children. He was a competitive swim official for 35 years, mentoring other officials as well as serving as former president and charter member of the Southern Wisconsin Swim Officials Association. He was a passionate golfer later in life and spent much of his leisure time at Bishop's Bay Country Club and in Tucson Arizona enjoying the sport and the company of his good friends.

In 1961, he helped to found Osborne Brick Company with his father and his brother David. This company has provided masonry products on countless state landmarks. He is a former president of the Brick Distributors of Wisconsin, and a founding member and current president of the Masonry Technology Foundation of Wisconsin; an organization that provides scholarships for masonry training at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College and Southwestern Wisconsin Technical College. Jim founded FOB Distributors in 1984 providing direct brick sales to dealers in the state of Wisconsin

He is survived by his wife, his three children, his brother David (Mary Jane) Osborne and his four grandchildren, Andrea and Zachary Osborne of Austin, Texas and Tommy and Camille Mohs of Madison.

A celebration of his life will be held at St. Bernard Church, 2015 Parmenter St., Middleton, on Wednesday, August 12, 2009, at 10:30 A.M. A visitation will be held before the service at 9:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers, memorials could be made to the following: Masonry Technology Foundation of W: mtfw@chorus.net, or to your favorite Humane Society or Dog Rescue Organization.