Lawrance L.

Osborn

Lawrance L. Osborn, Wainscott Farmer and Firefighter

​Wainscott lost one of its most enduring and endearing characters when Lawrance Leroy Osborn passed away quietly at home last Thursday evening, November 13, at the age of 91.

​Born in Southampton Hospital on March 13, 1934, he was the son of Leroy Hedges Osborn and Isabelle (Lawrance) Osborn. He was given his Scottish mother's maiden name, which has been misspelled with an 'e' throughout his life. He was raised in Wainscott, farming the land his family settled on in the 1600s. He attended the historic one-room Wainscott schoolhouse, whose property lies parallel to the cemetery holding generations of his relatives, including whalers lost at sea and soldiers lost to war. He graduated from East Hampton High School and earned a degree from Farmingdale State College, then best known for its agricultural program.

​As a young man, Lawrance had a local bicycle shop with his great friend George "Buzzy" Hedges. He spent his early career plowing fields, digging potatoes, and raising strawberries. He delivered milk & cream for the Osborn Dairy, and blocks of ice to the fishing boats in Three Mile Harbor, and tended the Osborn "Pick Your Own" berry fields on Main Street with views of Wainscott Pond. The phone would ring "off the hook" in early June with folks asking if the berries were ready yet, eager to return to pick year after year. In the 1970s, he ran a floor sanding and refinishing business. Honest to a fault, as well as a perfectionist, he could never bring himself to bill for all the hours he spent to finish the job to his standards. He became highly sought after for the quality of his work. He later settled back into farming, growing strawberries, potatoes, corn; and then added more vegetables to supply the family farmstand, first on Montauk Highway in Sagaponack and later near the family home in Wainscott. After retiring from farming, he worked with his son, Elisha, doing equipment repairs in Bridgehampton.

​A lifelong community servant, Lawrance was a volunteer member of the Bridgehampton Fire Department for 65 years with the Mack Engine Company Number 1. Forever challenging himself, he studied and became an EMT in his mid-70s.

​Mr. Osborn was also quite the daredevil. As a young man, he raced modified class race cars at Riverhead Raceway and other Long Island tracks. His love of motorcycles was legendary; one December, he traveled on his 1953 Indian 80 motorcycle from Washington State through snowstorms with a failing headlamp to make it home for New Year's Eve. Friends and family have countless stories of his adventures and escapades.

He continued to ride motorbikes into his late 80's. One clear fall day, he said "probably the last good day to ride this year!" and off he went, taking his last spin around the block on his 500-pound motorbike at age 88.

​Lawrance married Iris Streit in July 1965. He adopted her daughter, Anna, and they soon welcomed a daughter, Lori, and a son, Elisha, who all attended Wainscott School as he had. In his later years, he and Iris traveled, visiting his mother's birthplace in Dumbarton, Scotland, and taking a cruise to Alaska, among other distant destinations. He had a wry sense of humor, a generous and playful spirit, and served as a mentor to local youth, inspiring one young relative to become a farmer, another to become a shop teacher.

​He was predeceased in 2022 by his wife of 57 years, Iris Osborn.

​Lawrance is survived by two sisters, Caroline Osborn Hedges of Spokane, WA, and Charlotte Osborn Pratt of Orange City, FL; his three children, Anna Osborn of Copperas Cove, TX, Lori Osborn of Shelter Island Heights, NY, and Elisha Osborn of Wainscott, NY; seven grandchildren, Jani Jensen, Carmen Walker, Brianna Shultz, Max Osborn, Jack Kimmelmann, Gabriella Osborn, and Evelyn Osborn; and six great-grandchildren, Magdelana Osborn, Lily Lovelace, Annika Lovelace, Joshua Shultz, May Shultz, and Tori Osborn.

There will be visiting hours at the Yardley Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Saturday November 29th from 5pm to 8pm

The family is planning a graveside service at the Wainscott Cemetery, followed by a reception at the Wainscott chapel on Sunday November 30th the time to be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local volunteer fire department