TALLULAH, La. — John Ted Osborne, 71, died after a brief illness Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, at Merit Health River Region in Vicksburg.

He was born Oct. 7, 1948, in Monroe, La., and was a lifelong resident of Tallulah.

Ted was a Navy veteran having served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He received a B.A. degree from Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana at Monroe) and worked most of his career in the family-owned business, Osborne Ford Lincoln Mercury.

Ted retired in 2015 after serving 12 years as admissions director at the Olive Branch Senior Care Center in Tallulah.

He loved music and was happiest spending time with family and friends at his family’s camp at Lake Bruin, where campfires and informal jam sessions were enjoyed by all.

He is survived by his wife, Karol (nee Broadway); daughter Brooke and her husband Chris Carr of Houston; stepdaughter Hilary Creamer of Mandeville; sisters Melonie (Paul) Meeks and Ruthie (Freddy) Gaumnitz; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents Ilar W. and Claudine (nee Sharpe) Osborne, sister Silvia and brother-in-law Merle Gustafson, and brother Ilar W. “Skeet” Osborne, Jr.

Visitation will be at First Baptist Church of Tallulah Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, beginning at noon, followed by a memorial celebration of life at 1 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the First Baptist Church of Tallulah or the Madison Parish 4-H Foundation.