George Osmond

George Osmond
George Virl Osmond Sr. (October 13, 1917November 6, 2007) was the patriarch of the singing Osmond family.
Life and career
He was born in Etna, Wyoming, the youngest of Agnes (née Van Noy) and Rulon Osmond's 3 sons. Rulon's father, George, emigrated from England and became an early leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rulon died on November 24, 1917, 42 days after George was born. Agnes married then divorced John Neyman, with whom she had a daughter. She then married Clarence Hoopes, a widower with 5 children, and remained with him until his death; they had no children.
A devout Mormon, Osmond served two missions (Hawaii; the United Kingdom) after his discharge from the United States Army.
Stationed at Defense Depot Ogden in 1944, he met Olive Davis who worked there as a secretary; they married that December 1st. The couple had nine children: George Jr. (Virl), Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie, and Jimmy. Virl and Tom were born with a degenerative condition which left them nearly deaf. Doctors warned the couple that future children had a higher chance of having a hearing loss, but George and Olive wanted a large family. All of their other children were born hearing.
He worked in real estate, insurance, and as postmaster for Ogden. He loved to sing and taught his sons barbershop harmony, eventually forming Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay into a quartet. The boys' natural talent soon received public notice, which led to frequent appearances at church functions and local civil events, ultimately gaining a booking at Disneyland, where they caught the eye of Walt Disney himself, who took a personal interest in them. The boys then auditioned for Andy Williams, whose show helped launch them into the national spotlight.
As his sons' fortunes rose, Osmond devoted himself full-time to managing them. He moved the family to California to place them closer to the heart of the entertainment industry, returning the family to Utah after they had broken through to mainstream fame. Jay Osmond described his father as strict, but not abusive, in that he held the Osmond Brothers to a high standard knowing that such professionalism was necessary for them to succeed.
In 2004, Olive died shortly before her and George's 60th wedding anniversary. On November 6, 2007, Osmond died at his home in Provo, Utah of natural causes. Affectionately known to the family's fans as "Father Osmond", he is buried at the East Lawn Memorial Hills Cemetery in Provo beside Olive. Along with his nine children, he was survived by 55 grandchildren, and 48 great-grandchildren.
Children
Osmond had nine children with his wife Olive:
George Virl Osmond Jr. (born October 19, 1945)
Thomas Rulon Osmond (born October 26, 1947)
Alan Ralph Osmond (born June 22, 1949)
Melvin Wayne Osmond (born August 28, 1951)
Merrill Davis Osmond (born April 30, 1953)
Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955)
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957)
Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959, her father's 42nd birthday)
James Arthur Osmond (born April 16, 1963)
References
External links
Official Osmond Family Site
Obituary in The Times, 8 November 2007
George Osmond, Osmond family patriarch, dies at 90 - CNN.com
1917 births
2007 deaths
20th-century Mormon missionaries
Latter Day Saints from Wyoming
American military personnel of World War II
American Mormon missionaries in the United States
Mormon missionaries in Hawaii
American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom
People from Lincoln County, Wyoming
People from Ogden, Utah
People from Provo, Utah
Military personnel from Wyoming
Osmond family (show business)
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Utah postmasters