Earl Jay Osmon loved drumming and for 50 years taught young people how to play and perform in drum corps. “He started out in his late teens and he played the bass drum,” said his daughter, Jody Sossong. Mr. Osmon, 75, of McHenry died of a heart attack Monday, Aug. 9, in Northern Illinois Medical Center, McHenry. He was born in Chicago and in 1949 married Evelyn Burns, whom he met in a drum corps. He and his wife moved from Chicago to McHenry in 1960. Mr. Osmon was a sheet metal worker, installing heating and air conditioning in commercial buildings. He retired in 1994. He was a volunteer instructor for the McHenry Viscounts Drum and Bugle Corps and Viscounts Color Guard. As a staff member of Drum Corps International, he helped present shows. He also judged color guard competitions throughout the Midwest for girls and women ages 10 through 21. He was a member of the McHenry Planning and Zoning Commission for more than a decade. His sense of humor and love of people led him into bartending at the McHenry Moose Lodge, where he was a member, and American Legion Post 491. He was a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 73. Besides his daughter, survivors include his brothers, Edward and John; his sister, Marilyn Nisbet; a grandson; and two great-granddaughters. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday in Colonial Funeral Home, 591 Ridgeview Drive, McHenry. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in the funeral home.
