Funeral services set for Ohio prison lieutenant fatally shot during firearm training
Shahid Meighan
Funeral arrangements are set for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections lieutenant who was fatally shot Tuesday at the firearm training facility at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Orient.
Lt. Rodney Joe "Ozzy" Osborne's funeral service will be held on Monday at noon at Cornerstone Nazarene church, located 12138 Gallia Pike in Wheelersburg, Scioto County, according to his obituary posted on the Brant Funeral Service website. The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility Honor Guard will also perform a special recognition in honor of Lt. Osborne.
Following the service, he will be buried in Memorial Burial Park. Osborne's family will be hosting visitations on Sunday, April 14 from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Brant Funeral Home, located at 422 Harding Avenue, in the Sciotoville neighborhood of Portsmouth, Scioto County.
Osborne is survived by his wife, Bobbie Crist Osborne; two sons, Jozef Osborne, at home and Chasen (Bailee Fannin) Burk of Sciotoville; a daughter, Lillian Osborne at home; his mother, Judy (Wilson) Frazier of Coal Grove; two brothers, Michael Conn of Ashland, Kentucky, and Ronnie (Becky) Woodruff of Portsmouth; five sisters, Lory (Butch) Scarberry, Lisa (Donnie) Patrick and Carlotta (Zach) Conn, all of Ashland, Ohio; Diana (Christopher) Fortune, and Candace Mitchell of Portsmouth; special grandson, Asher Burk; several aunts and uncles and several nieces and nephews and cousins.
Osborne, 43, of Sciotodale, Scioto County, was fatally shot in the chest during training late Tuesday morning at the firing range at the ODRC Correctional Training Facility at the state prison in Orient, according to records obtained by The Dispatch A caller told 911 dispatchers that Osborne was still conscious as bystanders performed CPR. Osborne was eventually loaded into a truck and driven to the front entrance of the training facility to meet responding medics, according to the 911 calls. However, Osborne later died from his injuries.
ODRC director Annette Chambers-Smith said the fatal shooting of Osborne during firearm training appeared to be a tragic accident, but the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the shooting.
Osborne was a 13-year veteran of the ODRC and was "beloved amongst his peers," Chambers-Smith said in a news release. In addition to the honor guard at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, he was a member of the special response team there and the ODRC's statewide Special Tactics And Response (STAR) team. Last week, Osborne was named the SOCF's Employee of the Year.
Osborne grew up in Ashland, Kentucky, where he graduated from Paul Blazer High School in 1999. His cousin, Pamela Osborne, told The Dispatch hat he was a family man who loved outdoor activities such as fishing and shooting guns.