Madelyn Osborne

Madelyn Osborne, formerly of Jonancy, Kentucky, died on October 26, 2021. She was born in Pike County, Kentucky on January 7, 1923, to Whitley and Nora Trivette Smith. Madelyn married her soulmate, Adam Osborne in 1938. Madelyn and Adam made their home in Virgie where they operated the Virgie Furniture and Appliance Store and raised four children. An extrovert and successful businesswoman, she loved chatting with her customers and engaging with vendors. She had a great sense of humor loved animals, travel, music and visiting family. She and Adam instilled in their children the values of hard work and the importance of education. In the mid-1970's as retirement loomed, she and Adam built a home in Jonancy on the land that had been in the Osborne family for generations. Their home on Elswick's Branch became their refuge and you could find them gardening, tending to their pets, and hosting family. Madelyn had an intense sense of "place" and loved her home, particularly her front porch where she loved to stargaze and catch fireflies with her grandchildren. Following Adam's death in 1990, she traveled less but made it a point to attend graduations, weddings, and other important family events. In 2012, Madelyn relocated to Cleveland , Tennessee in order to be closer to her daughter, Shirley Lusk. Shirley can only be described as indefatigable in her care for her mother. The family is confident that Shirley, her daughter, Samantha, and grand-daughter Whitley made Madelyn's last years happy ones. Madelyn mourned the deaths of family over her life. She is preceded in death by her sister, Anne Smith Moore, and her brothers, Bob Smith, Carl Smith, and Ted Smith. The loss of her son-in-law, Charles Lusk and daughters-in-law, Donna Burke Osborne and Donna Bartley Osborne was as real to her as the loss of one of her own children. Madelyn's surviving family include her children: Shirley Lusk of Cleveland, Tennessee, Roger Osborne of Nashville, Tennessee, Fred Osborne of Clemmons, North Carolina, and Dale (Teresa) Osborne of Georgetown, Kentucky. She adored her seven grandchildren: Stephanie Osborne, Samantha Harris, Brian Christopher Osborne (Susan), Tracy Osborne, Bernadette Tucker (Graham), Catherine Osborne Flesch (Juergen), and Amanda Courtney Osborne. Madelyn's spirit lives on in her great-grandchildren; Jennifer Ann Hudspeth, Whitley Harris, Ellie Clay, Turner Osborne Rodgers, Anne-Sophie Flesch, Thorsten Flesch, and Caroline Dugan. On Saturday, October 30, 2021, Madelyn's family will receive friends and well-wishers beginning at 12:00 noon at Lucas and Sons Funeral Home in Pikeville. Graveside service will follow at the Johnson Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Special thanks to the staff at Bradley Healthcare and Rehab Center in Cleveland, Tennessee for their compassionate care during the last years of Madelyn's life.