Ray Osburn, 81, died on Friday, July 26, 2019 at Lincoln, NE.

Born on August 3, 1937, in Valentine, NE, to Albert and Lillian (Clayton) Osburn, he was given the name Albert Ray when he was five days old. He was the ninth child to join the family on the homestead south of Sparks, NE.

Ray attended country school south of Sparks through the eighth grade and graduated from Valentine High School in 1955.

On August 26, 1958 he was united in marriage to Florence Carrier at Pierre, SD. This union was blessed with five children, Danny, Rusty, Shane, Brad and Robyn. They made their home in Valentine where Ray worked at Tate's Standard Station before working for Cherry-Todd Electric as a lineman. He worked 50 years and 10 months before he decided to hang-up his hooks and belt. At this time, he began traveling to the ranch where he worked alongside his son, Danny. Ray loved being a lineman and truly enjoyed getting to know everyone in the service area. He never minded working all night outages, whether it was during a blizzard or a thunderstorm. At the ranch you could find him feeding and caring for the cattle, fixing fence, mowing hay or working in the shop. He always said he enjoyed what he was doing every day, and it never felt like work.

Ray never met a stranger and could visit with anyone he crossed paths with. Having a conversation was what he enjoyed. He had patience beyond measure, and he taught patience. He was a wealth of information which he would share in long visits. His greatest joy was being to able to help his family with whatever the need was, and always just wanted to help. A time schedule was not important to Ray. He could visit for hours and was always there helping as long as needed. The outdoors was where he enjoyed spending his time. In the early years he would take his children hunting and fishing and cared for the family farm. He was a simple man, never asking for anything, willing to give all he had and truly loved his family.

Survivors include his wife, Florence of Valentine; sons, Danny (Murlene) of Wood Lake, Rusty (Marsha) of Cody, Shane (Lisa) of Midland, SD, and Brad of Norfolk; daughter, Robyn (Jim) Jones of Kadoka, SD; grandchildren, Dodi Osburn of Valentine, Devin (Tammy) Osburn of Lafayette, IN, Darci (Luke) Arnold of Valentine, Benjamin (Misty) Osburn of Elm Creek, Alecia (Jeremy) Barnes of Laurel, Kayte (Shawn) Robinson of Nezel, Clayton Osburn of Valentine, William Osburn of Cody, Trey (Megan) Osburn of Columbus, MT, Trepper Osburn of Columbus, MT, Trent Osburn of Columbus, MT, Tyler Jones of Kadoka, SD, Michael (Kylie) Jones of Kadoka, SD, Tanner (Emma) Jones of Kadoka, SD, Dani Bachmann of Lincoln, Bree (Chris) Hill of Kilgore, Mariah and Makayla Hogenson of Lincoln, and Shane and Shyanne Urban of Wood Lake; great grandchildren, Reagan, Heston, and Mattie Osburn, Collins Arnold, Barrett Osburn, Caden, Elliot, and Bryce Barnes, Leadie, Stecklin, Evyanna, and Becker Robinson, Luke and Laura Osburn, and Kelton and Raeleen Jones, Henry, Caleb and Evalet Hill; sisters, Betty Copeland of Valentine and Bonny Copeland of Salina, KS; sister-in-law, Joyce (Harlin) Welch of Ainsworth; brother-in-law, Harold (Kathy) Carrier of Delaware, several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents, daughter-in-law, Debra Osburn; brothers, Russel, Robert, and Dick; sisters, Hazel Brown, Helen Olson, and Bernice in infancy.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 3, 2019 at the United Methodist Church in Valentine with Pastor Scott McClellen and Pastor A.G. Turner officiating. Sandoz Chapel of the Pines is in charge of funeral arrangements.