Carl & Mary Family, Page 6

CARL EDWIN and MARY LAWRENCE (BURNETT) OSBORNE

by Tom Osborne ([email protected])

Page 6, The Final Chapter

          After Mother moved into the Mary Galloway home, she slowly began to adapt to the routine of the facility, but with typical Burnett resistance. In the latter part of 1999, she went through a period of depression, and resisted the suggested exercise routines offered by MG. Her daily routine was to get up between 5 and 6 AM in order to be ready for breakfast at 8:30A, but then fall asleep in her chair while waiting for breakfast. She started getting ready for bed about 8:30P and finally got in bed about 10:30. But she did make her meals as required.

            Mother had taken “acid pills” ever since about 1970 when her mother was in a nursing home and she discovered them, and thought that she couldn’t live without them. In late 1999, she began to have gastrointestinal problems. As David once said, “she takes Prevacid to prevent stomach acid, Tums to reduce what little survives, and then an acid pill and vinegar to aid digestion and can’t understand why she has abdominal distress.” The acid pill saga lasted into the summer of 2000. In July 2000 she finally ran out of her supply and we prevented her from buying more. Once, unbeknownst to anyone, she wrote a personal letter to her doctor, presenting her case, and asking for the acid pills to be reinstated, which he considered and declined. But until her dying day, she never agreed to it and argued that her body was different and she needed them.

            In May of 2000, she had another of her many falls. But there was no serious damage, and she recovered fairly quickly.

            As time wore on, she settled into the routine of meals, some exercise reluctantly, visits to the hair lady who came weekly, re-sorting her laundry, and enjoying visits from the family. We took her out when possible and her favorite place to go was Pizza Hut for Meatlovers Pizza. David installed a fax machine so distant members of the family could fax letters to her. Here is an email from Pat, dated Mar 13, 2002, which summarizes the situation at that time:

            “You'll be happy to know that Mom actually looks better almost every time we see her. You know how she has always hopped up and down getting things, well, she is doing that again, just has to hold on to the walker to do it. Her complexion is her usual peaches and cream. She smiles and laughs and we usually have good talks though she still complains a lot. This week she is telling me she forgets to take her phone to her chair because we don't call enough to make her be able to remember it, a minute later she is telling me what Jim said when he called the previous night. :)
               Mom has some good friends now and they spend some time together. Their lives are so insulated they have no idea of what we outside people go through, so expect everything to be done now and just so. I think you will be real happy to see how good she looks and how happy she seems, though she may try to get you to get her some acid pills. She told David and Brenda, Sunday, that the acid pills are what have given her this long life.”

            On April 6, 2002, Mother celebrated her 90^th birthday. Pat and Brenda arranged a pizza party luncheon for the family and her friends in the MG dining room. These pictures show Mother dressed for the occasion with a rose corsage; Brenda cutting and serving birthday cake for friends and family, and the family seated around the table. (Click on pictures for larger versions.)



            The burden of dealing with Mother’s problems fell to Pat and Bob, and David and Brenda. David handled the finances and Pat battled the Medicare establishment, and all four tried to cover her daily wants and needs.

            On March 28, 2003, Mother fell again, this time while outside participating in one of the many fire drill evacuations. This time it was more serious, and she got a bad cut on her scalp which required stitches. Again no broken bones, but this seemed to start a period of general decline when she lost her appetite, complained of weakness, and began to have a little more difficulty talking. She had more down days than up days. Another email from Pat on Aug 18, 2003, summarizes the situation:

            “Claudia says Mom is deteriorating pretty rapidly, that Mom is following a path she has seen many times. We all agree that there is a rapid downward spiral. Claudia wants to keep her at MG as long as she can, but I am starting the process of investigating Nursing Homes.”

               Visits from out of town family always seemed to raise her spirits and give her a boost. Here are three pictures from a visit by Brittany and April in September, and from Tom in early October, 2003.

            Mother always re-sorted her laundry after the ladies brought it back to her. This picture shows her mating her socks. It was on this visit that I first learned that towels had a right side and a wrong side, and she always refolded the towels with the wrong side in.

            Near the end of October, 2003, she again had a mishap, sliding to the floor in the bathroom where she lay for a couple of hours before someone found her. At the hospital they found she had an infection which led to blood poisoning and, although she finally fought that off, it left her very weak and unable to regain the self sufficiency necessary to return to MG. She had lived at MG from August 1999 to the end of October 2003. For the most part the years at MG were good years, all things considered.

            On Nov 7, she moved to the Quince Nursing and Rehab Center, on Quince Road in Memphis, a convenient location for everyone. Jim came down for a visit in early Nov, and on Thanksgiving, Brenda and David brought her a special Thanksgiving lunch. Tom got down for a visit early in December when she enjoyed all of us being together.

            Although she hung on bravely to the end, seemingly torn between staying with the living, or joining all her loved ones gone before, her batteries finally gave out on Jan 12, 2004, when she went to sleep peacefully, and slipped off to join Daddy. Her funeral was held at a funeral home in Germantown on Jan 15, 2004. A memory table at the funeral summarized their lives together. We were all honored by a visit from several of her friends from Mary Galloway. And, taking advantage of a rare time when all of us were together, her four sons tried to reprise our 1950 portrait.

This is her obituary:

Mary Lawrence (Burnett) Osborne, 91, died at 6:PM, Monday, January 12 at Quince Nursing Home in Memphis, TN. Carl E. and Mary L. Osborne were long time residents of Lone Oak and McCracken County, but had moved to Germantown, TN in 1983. Mr. Osborne died on January 28, 1986 and had been interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. Both are now being moved to rest together at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Boaz, McCracken Co., KY.

She is survived by four sons; Thomas Osborne; Carl Osborne, Jr.; James Osborne; and David Osborne; ten grandchildren; and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Osborne was the sole surviving member of her immediate family, having been preceded in death by her parents, Mr. And Mrs. Jim Burnett of New Hope; two brothers: Elliott and Ray Burnett of Detroit; and four sisters: Dot Johns and Ruth Purkey of Detroit; Marie Hall and Kathryn Rust of Paducah. Mrs. Edith Burnett, surviving spouse of Ray Burnett, still resides in Michigan.

Graveside services for Mr. and Mrs. Osborne will be held Friday, January 16, 2004 at 2:PM at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Stan Reid officiating. Visitation for family and friends will be afterward from 3:PM to 5:30PM in the Fellowship Hall at Lone Oak First Baptist Church.

The Osbornes were long time members of Lone Oak First Baptist Church. They were staunch believers in Christian principles, and the value of continuing education. Mr. Osborne served as a member of the McCracken County Board of Education for eighteen years.

Epilogue

            Daddy died on Jan 28, 1986, the same day the shuttle Challenger blew up. We decided to temporarily inter him at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis until Mother died, then move them to their final resting place at the cemetery where they owned a plot next to Mother’s parents and a sister. Below are pictures of Daddy’s mausoleum and vault at Forest Hill.

            On Jan 16, a burial service was held at graveside at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens on Old Highway 45, in Boaz, just south of St. John. We were again deeply moved that so many of our cousins, distant cousins, and friends, some from far away, came for the service. Below are some pictures from the graveside service.

            These two pictures are of their final resting place later in the year. Mother and Daddy are near left, Mama and Papa Burnett in the middle, and Kathryn and Earl Rust, mother’s youngest sister are on the right. The last picture is a close up view of their marker.

PAGE:

1

2

3

4

5

TOM'S GENEOLOGY PAGES FOR CARL AND MARY L.
SUE'S GENEOLOGY PAGES FOR CARL AND MARY L.
HOME PAGE