Edward Osborne

Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. October 17, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1405 N. Sycamore Ave., for Edward Arthur Osborne, 94, who passed away peacefully in Roswell on September 28, 2025.

Ed was born on July 2, 1931, in Hillsdale, Michigan, to Cassel Oliver Osborne and Florence (Salzmann) Osborne, the youngest child and brother to Evadean and Dorothy. His father worked on the railroad, and his mother was a tour de force homemaker. Due to his father’s occupation, the family moved several times between Michigan and Ohio, and Ed had lots of chores growing up—getting weeds out of the three-quarter acre garden, picking corn, tomatoes and squash, gathering eggs and cleaning out the chicken coop. His love of dogs included a loyal mate named Joe that pulled him around on a sled in the Michigan winter. The family eventually sought an arid climate for his mother’s arthritis, and in November 1947, moved to Roswell. Ed, known as “irrepressible” in his senior yearbook, graduated from Roswell High School in 1949, and entered college at University of Arizona. One of his favorite classes was organic chemistry, and he worked at a local restaurant to help fund his studies. He took a semester off to work and save money, but he was immediately drafted and instead, found himself at Fort Hood, Texas, in basic training for the Army, en route to Korea. Luckily, because of his studies and science background, he was offered a position at the base pharmacy.

During visits to Michigan, his friends invited him to watch a boxing match on TV, and set him up on a blind date. He was introduced to Margaret Suzanne Grissel, and in subsequent visits, Ed was known for riding his bike long distances down Michigan Avenue to Valley View Dairy Farm on Lotz Road to visit her. The couple married on June 3, 1953, and spent time at Fort Hood, Texas, and at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio before returning to Michigan, where they welcomed their first child, Edward Arthur Jr., in 1956. Ed senior attended University of Michigan during this time, and graduated in 1959 with a pharmacy degree, the beginning of a lifelong career that brought him much joy.

In November 1960, the young family loaded up their belongings in a cattle truck and moved their life to Roswell, where Ed worked at Pete Kling Pharmacy and Nash Pharmacy. The couple welcomed a second child, Carol, in 1962. Soon after, a pharmacy colleague invited the family to Galveston, Texas, to offer Ed a position in hospital pharmacy. It was the unanticipated death of Nash Pharmacy’s owner, Bob Nash, that drew the family back to Roswell and indicated Ed was meant to work, lead and serve in Roswell. The family settled at 708 Deborah Drive, and eventually welcomed a third child, Susan, in 1971.

Each day, Ed had a spring in his step as he headed out the door to fill prescriptions at Nash Pharmacy, a family business he co-owned and operated for more than 30 years. He went above and beyond caring for his customers, whether it was making deliveries to their homes, filling prescriptions in the middle of the night, or pioneering an in-house system that helped doctors identify and prevent drug interactions in patients. Ed’s positivity, enthusiasm and high energy equipped him for any challenge. In 1968, Ed was voted “pharmacist of the year” by the New Mexico Pharmaceutical Association and received the “Bowl of Hygeia” award for outstanding community service. Ed led and served many years in United Way of Chaves County, Roswell Rotary, the Roswell Tennis Association, the Assurance Home, and at Immanual Lutheran Church, where he could be found making Easter breakfast, mowing the church lawn, driving hundreds of miles to secure German bratwursts for the church’s Oktoberfest celebration, singing in the choir, or visiting church family in their homes as an elder. After retiring from Nash Pharmacy in 1994, Ed enjoyed working for fellow pharmacists in Artesia, Roswell, Clayton, Tucumcari and Portales when they needed a break.

Ed’s many hobbies included tennis, gardening, cultivating Kentucky bluegrass in his front yard, restoring classic cars, and cheering on his favorite sports teams, especially the University of Michigan! His “Go Blue” license plate could be spotted frequently around town. He was known to journey to Texas or Colorado and bring bushels of freestone peaches home to his friends and family. Ed loved to drive and was known as “interstate dad” by his family because of all the road trips he made in record time! When he served as president of the New Mexico Pharmaceutical Association, he drove to every pharmacy in the state of New Mexico during a singular calendar year.

In 2014, Ed lost his wife and partner, Margaret, of 60 years. Ed continued to play tennis and work as a fill-in pharmacist. He made great efforts to support and cheer on his grandchildren, traveling to watch high school football games, dance recitals, listen to choir and band concerts, and celebrate birthdays. In 2019, he met Margie Camp, and the two married on April 16, 2020, exactly a year after their first date. Their 6 years together were full; they enjoyed cooking and entertaining, visiting family, volunteering together at Community Kitchen, gardening, and taking adventures to Jamaica, New York, Oregon, Alaska and Michigan.

Ed was a man of great faith who was an inspiration to his family. He lived his life with joy and a spirit of gratitude. He is survived by Margie Camp Osborne of the home; son Ed Osborne and wife Kim of Lovington, two daughters, Carol Lucas of Austin, Texas, and Susan Jakobsen and husband Tim of McKinney, Texas; also 5 grandchildren, Eric Osborne, Amy Zarazua and husband Josh; Jessie Lucas, Teo Jakobsen, and Soren Jakobsen, and one great-grandchild, Giana Zarazua, as well as many nieces and nephews in New Mexico, Michigan, Missouri and Alaska.

Honorary pallbearers will be Bud Kunkel, Tim Kunkel, Bob Kunkel, Ted Kunkel, Charles Shannon and Hugh Taylor.

To honor Ed’s life, a luncheon immediately following the memorial service is planned in the Immanual Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. Please RSVP to susankjakobsen@gmail.com if you wish to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ed’s name to Community Kitchen in Roswell, or to the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy at www.pharmacy.umich.edu/alumni-and-giving/how-to-give/

Ed’s family would like to thank the staff at Sunset Villa Nursing Home for their compassionate, attentive care during his stay.