Alice June Osborne

June Osborne June 7, 1931 – August 15, 2007 June Osborne, a Waco naturalist and freelance writer, died peacefully on August 15th, 2007 surrounded by the love of her family. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 18th, at DaySpring Baptist Church in Waco. Visitation with the family will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, August 17th in the Chapel of Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Alice June Williams was born on June 7, 1931 to Luther Wise and Lucile Sims Williams in Marvell, Arkansas. She graduated from Eldorado High School in 1949 and from Ouachita Baptist College, Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 1953. At Ouachita she fell in love with her husband-to-be, Harold. They were married on February 15, 1953 and their love and devotion continue to this day. In 1958 they moved to Waco where Harold began his lengthy tenure as a professor of Sociology at Baylor University. During those years June was an active faculty wife serving as President of the Baylor Round Table and teaching nature courses in Baylor’s School of Continuing Education. She also taught courses on bird identification for a number of years at McLennan Community College. June was a “family” person, a devoted and loving wife, mother and grandmother. However, she was also fiercely independent and determined to pursue her own special interests in life. She was a gifted speaker and writer and her passion for birding is world renowned. She was a popular speaker at numerous Audubon Society chapters, civic organizations, and Nature Festivals throughout Texas. For a number of years she guided birding tours in the U.S. and abroad and directed birding Elderhostels through Baylor University. One of the highlights of her life was the opportunity of serving each year during the month of April as Resident Birder for Neal’s Lodges in Concan, Texas. She often commented that though she was involved professionally in birding for more than thirty years, her only regret is that her interest in ornithology did not begin much earlier in life. June also served for a number of years as a member of the Advisory Board of Wild Bird Magazine and until her death wrote a column for each issue. She also wrote a regular column called “Wingin’ It” for the Waco Tribune-Herald. During her career she wrote several books on birding including Birder’s Guide to Concan, TX and surrounding areas a popular, practical guide to birding in the Texas Hill Country, The Cardinal and The Ruby-throated Hummingbird both published by the University of Texas Press and an anthology I’d Rather be Birding published by the Texas A&M University Press. June is survived by her husband, Harold Osborne of Waco; three sons, Mike Oz of Waco, Van and his wife, Kathy of San Angelo, TX; and Sam and his wife, Audra of Seattle, WA; three grandchildren, Kelsey Osborne of Lubbock, TX, Wheeler Osborne of Lubbock, TX and Jack Osborne of Waco; three step-granchildren, Kaleb Meador of Seattle, WA, Lindsey Bird of Entiat, WA and Justin Bagdon of Rayne, LA; one brother, Max Williams of Portland, OR, and one sister, Betty Autry of Lonoke, Ark. June was much loved by all who knew her and was an inspiration to untold numbers of birding enthusiasts. She truly believed that one person can make a difference. And so she did. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in honor of June to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, c/o Gretchen Jesse, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY, 14850; or the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County, P.O. Box 18877, Seattle, WA 98118. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com. Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey