CLEVELAND, July 31 — Brother James Frederick Osborn, a former BLE General Chairman of the Norfolk and Western Railroad (former Wabash) General Committee of Adjustment, passed away at his home in Springfield, Mo., on July 24, 2014. He was 83 years old.
Brother Osborn was born August 29, 1930 in Stanberry, Mo., to John Paul Osborn and Hazel Marsha (Dasia) Perry.
He proudly served his country in the Marine Corp from October 1951 to October 1953 with a reserve term of six years that he completed in October of 1959.
Brother Osborn hired out with the Wabash Railroad on November 3, 1958. After earning promotion to Locomotive Engineer, he joined BLE Division 86 (Moberly, Mo.) on March 1, 1968. Three years later, he was elected to serve the Brotherhood as Local Chairman of Division 86 in 1971. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Norfolk and Western General Committee of Adjustment (N&W GCA) in 1974. In 1977, he took a leave of absence from the railroad to serve the Brotherhood full-time as General Chairman of the N&W GCA. He was reelected General Chairman in 1980 and 1983. In 1978, he led his Committee through a four-month strike with no member crossing the picket lines. He retired from the railroad industry in 1990.
Brother Osborn is survived by his wife, Emogene Semons in Moberly, Mo., whom he married on September 19, 1954. To this union three children were born and who survive him: Donna Sue (Hall) Osborn, James Kevin Osborn, and Kathy Daylene Osborn.
The funeral was a private family service.
“Brother Osborn was a professional locomotive engineer and a dedicated union officer,” said BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce. “On behalf of our 53,500 active and retired members throughout the United States, I extend deepest sympathies to all of Brother Osborn’s family and friends.”