Paul R. Osborne

Paul Richard Osborne, 82, of Fort Branch, IN, passed away peacefully on March 1, 2019 at the Linda E. White Hospice House in Evansville, IN.  Paul was born on June 19, 1936 in Columbus, OH to the late Claude Meredith and Marguerite Ruth (Grove) Osborne.

On June 2, 1963, he married the former Connie Marie Eley of Lakeview, Ohio.  He served in U.S. Marine Corps prior to attending college.  He graduated from Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri where he played football and was inducted into the college’s football hall of fame.  He obtained his Master’s degree from Indiana University.  Paul taught high school and coached many sports including girls and boys basketball, track, wrestling, and football.  His 36 year teaching and coaching career took him from Ohio to Indiana where he influenced the lives of thousands of students at schools in Cannelton, Owensville, Gibson Southern, and Tecumseh.  As head football coach of the Tecumseh Braves for 17 years, Paul guided his team to four sectional and two regional championships.  He retired from teaching and coaching in 1996.  He was inducted into the Indiana Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001.  In 2004, Paul came out of retirement to coach the Princeton Tigers football team for two seasons.

Besides his parents, Paul is also preceded in death by his daughter, Julie Marie Osborne, who passed away on September 16, 2018 and two brothers, Robert W. and Meredith E. Osborne.

Paul is survived by his wife, Connie, of Fort Branch, IN, three children, Connie Jo (Todd) Ralph of Haubstadt, IN, Thomas Paul Osborne of Fort Branch, IN, Kenneth Richard (Cassandra) Osborne of Evansville, IN and son-in-law, Brandon Rhoades of Fort Branch, IN.  He also has eight grandchildren, Rachel Mayer, Jessica Murphy, Jordan (Rachael) Ralph, Shelby Osborne, Megan Osborne, Bryce Osborne, Kaliya Rhoades, and Ariah Rhoades and four great grandchildren.

Services for Paul will be on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 2:00 PM at the Stodghill Funeral Home in Fort Branch, IN with Corey Atkins officiating.  Burial will be in Walnut Hill Cemetery in Fort Branch, IN, where a military service will be conducted by the Fort Branch VFW Post #2714 and Haubstadt American Legion Post #194.  Visitation will be on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 from 2:00 PM until 7:00 PM at the funeral home.  The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to your favorite charity in Paul’s memory.  

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