THOMAS OSDENE

OSDENE, Thomas Stefan, 83, died Friday, August, 12, 2011, at St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, following a brief illness. Dr. Osdene was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on Dec. 10, 1927. He was the son of Herman Josef Oesterreicher, a cosmetics company executive, and Elsa Sternschuss Oesterreicher, a writer and musician. Dr. Osdene earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry, with first-class honors, at Birkbeck College, University of London. He completed his doctorate at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London. Dr. Osdene came to the United States in 1955 for a post-doctoral fellowship in chemistry at Princeton University. A retired vice president of science and technology of Philip Morris USA, Dr. Osdene began his professional career as a research chemist at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He also was a researcher for Wyeth Laboratories in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Osdene joined Philip Morris in Richmond in 1965 and retired from the tobacco and consumer-products company in 1993. Dr. Osdene acquired more than 40 U.S. and foreign patents in chemical compounds and was a past-president of the International Cancer Congress and a member of the Coresta Scientific Commission. In retirement, Dr. Osdene and his son collaborated in collecting early electrical appliances. Dr. Osdene is survived by his wife, Candace Hobson Ostergard Osdene of Richmond; daughters, Clare Osdene Schapiro and Joanna Osdene Sallade, both of Richmond; a son, Stefan Robert Hobson Osdene of Madison, Wisconsin; and four grandsons, Joss FitzWilliam Sallade, Cooper Thomas Sallade, Felix Hendel Hayes Schapiro, all of Richmond, and Mason Thomas Osdene of Madison. Dr. Osdene was a member of the American Chemical Society, the Royal Chemical Society, the American Philatelic Society and the Toaster Collectors Association, and was a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society. He was a member of the Commonwealth Club and the Bull and Bear Club, and was a parishioner of Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Dr. Osdene was a former chairman and member of the board of trustees of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and member of the board of directors of the Fan District Association. Dr. Osdene's family wishes to thank his physician, Dr. John S. Ashworth. A funeral will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 8 N. Laurel St., Richmond. Burial will be private. Contributions may be made to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, public television station WCVE, Richmond, and the Southside SPCA, Meherrin, Virginia.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.