William Osborne III

William "Bill" W. Osborne III, 67, of Sheboygan, passed away Thursday, July 5, 2018 at Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice after his courageous battle with esophageal cancer. Bill was born March 16, 1951, in Oakland, CA to the late William and Barbara (Kirchner) Osborne. He graduated from Upper Dublin Senior High School in 1969 and attended Lynchberg College in Virginia. Bill, an avid baseball fan, was a pitcher for the Orlando Twins, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins for a year after college, which was a lifelong dream. He worked all over the country in hotels and network marketing for several multinational companies. He enjoyed being a chef for local restaurants. Bill's passions included cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers, stamp collecting, fly fishing and fly tying with his buddy, Tyler, his beloved black lab. He also enjoyed traveling in his 36 foot RV with Jon Myers, heading west where they worked at Yellowstone National Park and in resorts in Brenda, AZ.
Survivors include his sister, Sue Bailey, Philadelphia, PA, who moved to Sheboygan to be with Bill as his caregiver; his former wife and friend, Dede (nee Locke) Smith, daughter of Nina Locke and the late James Locke, Orlando, FL; the children of his dear friends, the late David and Brenda Ploetz, Melissa and Zachary Huston, Amanda Ploetz and Jonathan Ploetz; dear friends, Peter Gould, Julie and Jim Kelly and family, Troy Olmsted, Todd Skebba, Olivia Dicke and Jamie Heinecke.
In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his grandparents, Earl and Mildred Kirchner.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, July 20, 2018 at 12:30 pm at Ballhorn Chapels Funeral and Cremation Care Center (1201 N. 8th Street, Sheboygan). Friends may call on Friday, at the funeral home, from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service. Please visit www.ballhornchapels.com to sign the guestbook. Bill requests that all attendees wear Milwaukee Brewers attire in honor of his passion for baseball.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of the Vince Lombardi Cancer Center for their unwavering friendship and the staff of the Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice.