Former Centralia-area resident James L. “Jim” Osborn passed away a year ago on Nov. 28, 2024, in Tacoma, Washington, at age 89. He was the last surviving child of Rev. Edward Hill and Helen Hope (Blair) Osborn. He was born in Palmdale, California, on March 28, 1935, and graduated from Paso Robles, California, High School in 1953. After graduation, he put in a hitch with the U.S. Navy. After his service, he lived in Southern California until moving to Bucoda, Washington, in 1971. He later moved to Centralia and owned properties in the Logan District and also Chehalis. He later moved to the Nisqually area and married Susan Chambers Goheen in 2000.
They later divorced but remained on positive terms until her passing in 2021. About 2004, Jim moved to Tacoma, where he remained for the balance of his life.
He had been employed at Quali-Cast in Chehalis and held numerous different jobs in other areas. In his late fifties, he went to North Seattle Community College and was trained in repair of medical equipment. He volunteered at the Seattle Veteran’s Hospital and was eventually hired there and did not retire until he was 79 years of age!
Jim enjoyed living alone but was still very social and very much enjoyed dancing. He did travel to Australia and also to New York City but always returned to the Northwest, which he very much liked. He was an atheist and a liberal Democrat in politics and even worked for Pacifica Radio and for an underground newspaper in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, he had many friends who were religious and/or conservative.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings: Ruth Osborn Propsner Ebey; Paul, David and Elizabeth Osborn; Dorothy Osborn Sheets Sloan; and Anne Osborn Cozine. He is survived by his stepchildren Christopher and Jesica Goheen and several nieces and nephews scattered over the United States.
Cremation has taken place under the auspices of American Memorial Funeral Directors of Tacoma. His cremains have been given to his stepchildren for scattering at a later date.
