Rev. Cloyd M. “Oz” Osborne, 88, of 112 Marwood Road, Cabot, peacefully went to be with his Lord on Thursday at the Good Samaritan Hospice at Concordia.

He was born in Clark, Pa., on Sept. 25, 1923, a son of John C. and Lillian Wishart Osborne. He was a 1941 graduate of Sharon High School and was awarded a bachelor of science from Thiel College in 1949. He earned a master's of divinity at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, N.J., in 1952.

During World War II, Oz served three years in the Army Air Corps in the European Theatre as a sergeant in radio communications.

For 50 years, he served United Methodist churches as a local pastor in New Jersey and Western Pennsylvania. Having served three charges in New Jersey, he returned to Pennsylvania serving at Emlenton/Foxburg, Sandy Lake and Butler. He was blessed to establish and serve a new church, Christ Community United Methodist Church at 205 N. Duffy Road from 1968 until 1986, before his retirement.

Active in the community, Oz served as a part-time chaplain at the Butler Veterans Affairs Medical Center for 32 years. He served on various boards of directors including the Butler Blind Association, Mental Health and Retardation, PARC and the Boy Scouts.He was a faculty member of the community religion course at Butler Area High School and distributed communion to Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center residents for many years. He also served as a member of the local board of the Salvation Army and as chaplain for the Butler THEOS group. He was an active member of the Western Pennsylvania United Conference Board and Agencies. He was also a member of Victory Masonic Lodge 694 in Butler and a former member of the Butler Rotary Club.Oz loved carpentry, hiking, reading, letter writing and getting together with his beloved family. He will be long remembered for his smiling face and his loving, friendly and outgoing way with people. He loved all he met and all he met loved him.Oz is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Alberta Love Osborne, who he married March 15, 1946; three children, Yolanda (William) Deemer of Butler, Tom (Carol) Osborne of Lakeside, Ohio, and Rex (Tracey Luksas) Osborne of Columbus, Ohio; nine grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Francis and Ray.

<B>OSBORNE</B> — Friends of Rev. Cloyd M. “Oz” Osborne, who died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, will be received at the Christ Community United Methodist Church, 205 N. Duffy Road, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday and from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, before the funeral services. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the church. The Rev. Jeffrey T. St. Clair, pastor, will officiate.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Christ Community United Methodist Church, or the Good Samaritan Hospice at Concordia, 134 Marwood Road, Cabot, PA 16023.Funeral arrangements are entrusted to <B>Geibel Funeral Home</B>, 201 E. Cunningham St., Butler.