David (Wendell) Osborne, age 90, passed away peacefully January 10th 2026. He was preceded in death by his first wife Carol, parents Cecil and Margaret Osborne, siblings Herb, Gwen, son in law Paul Emaus, and his savior Jesus Christ.
Wendell’s life adventures began in Brush, Colorado, on January 11th, 1935. He was the second of seven children and is survived by his brothers, Alan Osborne (Marilyn) and Roger Osborne (Isabelle); sisters, Crystal Kato (Jim) and Cindy Osborne.
After graduating from Fort Morgan High School in 1953, he attended Colorado College, majoring in chemistry. He was a tri-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball, and track, where he held the hurdles record for years. He graduated in 1957, Summa Cum Laude, showing the traits of determination and hard work that would follow him throughout his life.
During his time in college, he fell in love with and married Carol Lee Phelps on September 3rd, 1955. The couple moved east in the summer of 1957 to Newark, Delaware, where Wendell attended the University of Delaware to earn his PhD. After graduating in 1960, Wendell began his career with Dow Chemical, working for 38 years in Midland, Michigan; Walnut Creek, California; and finally, Carmel, Indiana (as he would say, “by the corn, not the sea”).
In September 1964, Carol and Wendell joyfully welcomed their son, Aaron, to the world, and in April 1966, they welcomed their daughter, Anne. In 1973, the family welcomed a poodle named Pepe to join their adventures. The family enjoyed traveling, skiing, and visiting family. The family valued time together and being diligent.
He retired in 1998 and cherished time with his golfing, traveling with Carol, time with children, grandchildren Miranda Emaus, Kalina Emaus, and Kylar Osborne. He is dearly adored by his grandchildren and will be remembered for his deep love, humility, humor, being the one who tied the family together, being abundantly generous with his time, and giving the best hugs.
After losing his wife, Carol, in 2004, through mutual friends he was connected with Barbara Petersen. She was, ironically, a good friend of Carol’s and was the maid of honor in their wedding. He began, in his words, “a little email romance,” which led to the two falling in love and beginning their life together on August 19th, 2006. They spent 19 years enjoying each other’s company including time at their cabin, time with their families, feeding birds, gardening, attending Broncos games, and traveling. The two were examples of giving back to the community.
For the past three years, Wendell has been Barbara’s constant companion and consummate caretaker. Wendell was always a kindhearted, zestful, loving, joyful, energetic presence with a contagious smile. He embraced many life changes with resilience and courage, finding his ultimate strength in Jesus Christ. He was an example to many of us as a true gentleman. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Barbara; her daughters; his two children; together, their 14 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and many others he met along this beautiful adventure of life.
Contributions can be made to smiletrain.org in memory of Wendell Osborne.
Our condolences for this great loss. Losing a father and grandfather is like saying goodbye to a family anchor. Hopefully, your fond memories will bring you comfort during this difficult time.
Kind regards from Alberdina and Gerrit
Mother of Silvia
From the Netherlands
May you be comforted and yet celebrate Wendell’s life. I got to know him via my in-laws, Tom and Jane Werkema, who spoke very highly of him. And, as I worked at Dow, I often heard very complimentary things about both his work and style. A good man of faith who will be missed but celebrated.
We loved Uncle Wendell so! He always took the time to make everyone feel special and gave the best hugs! Sending love to Aunt Barbara, Anne and the Rest of the family
Wendell was a special brother! We had similar interests growing up. Though we were widely separated as adults by distance, as the result of employment, we maintained contact. Special remembrances include playing against him in college football, putting rocks in the getaway car’s hubcaps at his first wedding and getting a getting a good scolding from Carol. However, the best times have been the every Sunday night phone calls in the past few years. I will really miss those! He was a very good brother and a very accomplished man!