Loren H. OSMAN

OSMAN, PATTERSON, SPENCER, BROADBENT, JUNGMAN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 7/31/2009 at 10:45:59

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin
March 11, 2007

Loren H. Osman, of Milwaukee, former longtime resident of Bayside. Passed away on Thursday, March 8, 2007 at age 89. He was an agricultural writer, general assignment reporter and editor for the Milwaukee Journal for more than 30 years, retiring in 1982. He joined the Journal in 1948 after working for the Chicago Journal of Commerce, the City News Bureau of Chicago and the Prairie Farmer magazine. Loren was the garden editor for the Journal for six years, winning a number of awards. He then became farm reporter and won several more awards in that field. Twice Loren was named farm editor of the year by the Newspaper Farm Editors of America. Known as Larry, his colleagues often described him as "tireless." Osman covered 34 Wisconsin State Fairs and countless other events and stories. Following his retirement, he authored the book W.D. Hoard: A Man for His Times, which chronicled the life of the former Wisconsin governor and dairy industry pioneer. Osman was born August 11, 1917 in Belmond, Iowa and was raised near New Richland, Minnesota in a farming family. He was preceded in death by his wife, Doris "Pat" (nee Patterson) Osman who died in 1983. He is survived by a son, Carl Osman of Milwaukee; a daughter, Gwen Spencer, her husband Michael and their son J.K. of Bainbridge Island, Washington; a daughter Roxanne Broadbent, her husband Scott and their son Luke of Maui, Hawaii; and a sister, Myrna Jungman of Vernon Hills, Illinois. His sister Dulcie Colon died in 1997. The family will receive friends at the Funeral Home on Monday, March 12 from 5-7 PM, and on Tuesday at ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, 7877 N. Port Washington Rd., Glendale from 10:00 AM until time of Funeral Services at 11:00 AM. Burial will be private at Graceland Cemetery. Memorials in Loren's name may be directed to the church. SCHMIDT & BARTELT Funeral and Cremation Services 106 West Silver Spring Drive Whitefish Bay.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin
March 10, 2007\Copyright

Osman covered State Fair
Journalist's niche was agriculture coverage
By BILL GLAUBER

During more than 30 years of reporting for The Milwaukee Journal, Loren H. "Larry" Osman wrote with heart and humor about agriculture, winemaking and the State Fair.

He even managed to find the lighter side of a single-car accident that left him critically injured in August 1969. The accident was so serious that the Journal prepared Osman's obituary. But Osman recovered, and the obituary was never used.

"Good thing, too, because it had a couple of errors," Osman wrote three years later.

Osman, 89, who lived in Milwaukee and was a long-time resident of Bayside, died Thursday.

From 1948 to his retirement in 1982, Osman's prose, passion and byline were staples of the Journal. He was garden editor through most of the 1950s before becoming farm editor from 1959 to 1968. He was twice selected as agricultural journalist of the year by the Newspaper Farm Editors of America. Later, he served stints as an editorial writer and regional reporter.

Like any good journalist, he appeared interested in everything and everyone. During the 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, Osman said he rode one day with candidate John F. Kennedy and recalled that Kennedy "picked my brain for every farm tip I knew."

Home winemaking was one of his passions, and he once wrote, tongue firmly in cheek, "Savings are questionable, the product may not rival the Rhine Valley's best - or even worst - and the aging takes patience."

He carved out a niche at the State Fair, covering the event more than 30 years, and in 1981 summed up the changes: "There were free Grandstand shows that ended with $50,000 guarantees to country and rock stars, chorus lines, jugglers, a human cannonball, fireworks that spelled out Visit the Midway, the tears of a blind girl who won a blue-ribbon for her calf, the incredible endurance of fairgoers plodding through rain, heat and other fairgoers."

In 2001, Osman was inducted into the Milwaukee Press Club Media Hall of Fame.

Osman was born Aug. 11, 1917, in Goodell, Iowa, raised on a farm in Waseca County, Minn., and attended New Richland High School in Minnesota.

"He was interested in journalism in high school," said his sister Myrna Jungman of Vernon Hills, Ill.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Osman's wife, Doris "Pat" Osman, died in 1983.

Besides his sister, Osman is survived by a son, Carl of Milwaukee; daughters Gwen Spencer of Bainbridge Island, Wash., and Roxanne Broadbent of Maui, Hawaii; and two grandsons.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home, 106 W. Silver Spring Drive, Whitefish Bay, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. John's Lutheran Church, 7877 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale. The funeral services will follow.