CONTOOCOOK----- Wanda Cummiford Osborne, 83, went to her Reward-for-Life-Well-Lived, surrounded by her loving family at her daughter Mary's and her husband Steve Jackson's home in Gilmanton Iron Works on Saturday, June 19, 2021.
Described by one grandson as "Steady as a rock, calm as a warm summer breeze," Wanda was born February 13, 1938, in Kalkaska, Michigan. The daughter of Benjamin and Marjorie (Reynolds) Cummiford grew up in the family home and attended area schools. She attended nursing school and received her license in practical nursing in 1958.
While a nursing student, she was introduced on a blind date to John J. Osborne, who was attending engineering school at Michigan Technological University. The couple wed September 13, 1958, in Kalkaska, and were married 60 years before he died in 2019. The couple lived in several locations, including Colorado and California, before settling for several years in John's native Brooklyn, New York. In 1971, Wanda, a country girl at heart, convinced John to move to New Hampshire to raise their growing family.
At age 40, when her youngest child entered first grade, Wanda enrolled in the Concord Hospital School of Nursing, where she completed her training as a registered nurse. She did this while working night and weekend shifts as an LPN in the emergency room and while raising four young children. She later received her certification as an operating room "first assistant," and had a long and successful career as a surgical nurse at Concord Hospital.
Wanda also enjoyed applying the skills she had learned growing up, including sewing, making beautiful quilts, making three stunning wedding dresses when her daughters married, and gardening. She also enjoyed accompanying her husband and children on numerous fishing trips to coastal New Hampshire and Maine.
Mrs. Osborne is survived by her daughters, Ellen, and her husband Andrew Cohoe, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Catherine, and David Gram, of Montpelier, Vermont, Mary, and Steven Jackson, of Gilmanton Iron Works; her son John, and his wife Jennifer Osborne, of Henniker; as well as eleven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Graveside Services will be private.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 17, 2021, from 1:00 - 4:00 pm, at the American Legion Post 81, 169 Bound Tree Road, Contoocook, NH, 03229, where a catered lunch will be served.
Memorial donations may be made in Wanda's name to Granite VNA Hospice, 30 Pillsbury Street, Concord, NH, 03301.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.