Ellis D. Osbourn

Ellis Don “Slim” “Green Ridge” Osbourn, 95, of Sedalia, died Sunday, January 23, 2022, at Fair View Nursing Home.

He was born April 16, 1926, on Brown Street in Sedalia, son of John Cecil “Shorty” Osbourn and Ellen Dean (Strain) Osbourn.

On May 26, 1946, in Olathe, KS, he married Onavee Lorene (Downing). He was married several other times.

Ellis was educated in Green Ridge until his junior year, where he played clarinet. He finished high school at Smith-Cotton in Sedalia. At that time, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was proud to have shaken FDR’s hand. Throughout life he was a crack pistol shot due to his Navy training.

He played guitar for the Happy Miller Boys on KDRO when the station was just starting out.

Ellis ran the Ream Hardware store at age 15. He entirely built a house at age 19. He also managed State Fair Floral, worked at the broom factory, and made cottage cheese for Tullis Hall Dairy. His primary occupation was a HVAC repairman for K.E. May and ACR. He was best known as the only man to be a licensed boilermaker, electrician, and plumber in the area. For a time, he left Sedalia to work as a consultant for Fitzgerald in Texas.

Ellis was a member of Green Ridge Presbyterian Church, and more recently was a full minister for the World Church, doing missions around the world for four years.

He was the oldest living member of American Legion Post 642, formerly Post 16, and VFW Post 2591. He was an advocate for veterans and helped serve holiday dinners over the years.

He acted as Abraham Lincoln for Brothers of the Brush for the Sedalia Centennial. He made motion pictures and projected the free shows in the Green Ridge park. The first movie was a silent and the last was a western.

He built clocks, including grandfather clocks, and did oil paintings, one of which won a prize in New York. He loved cats and dogs.

Ellis was of Scotch-Irish and Danish descent and was a direct descendant of Pocahontas.

Surviving are a daughter, Donna L. Osbourn; other daughters, sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren from other marriages; and a daughter-in-law, Julia Osbourn.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two sons, Donald Gordon Osbourn and a son in infancy; and a brother, Gordon G. Osbourn.

A visitation will be held from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at Heckart Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the American Legion, VFW, or any charity of the donor’s choice.