Philip Osborne

Family-Placed Death Notice

PHILIP OSBORNE Philip Osborne was born December 23, 1929 in East Orange, NJ on his mother's 22nd birthday. In 1941, the family moved to Atlanta and soon settled into a home in Brookhaven. Phil briefly attended North Fulton High, along with his sisters Betsy and Barbara, before graduating from Darlington School in Rome, GA in 1948. He received his B.A. from Principia College in Elsah, IL prior to joining the U.S. Army and its intelligence operations in Berlin, Germany during the early years of the Cold War. Phil began his travel career in 1954 by asking to be decommissioned in Europe rather than going directly home to Atlanta. From Germany he traveled across land to Japan where he found a job as an English language teacher aboard a Japanese freighter bound for the U.S. After many stops en route, he arrived in San Francisco and knew the travel bug was in him. He was hired by Thomas Cook Travel in New York before moving back to Atlanta and working with Tower Travel, one of the first travel agencies in the Southeast. In 1960 he started his own business, Osborne Travel Service, in Buckhead. In its early years the company became renowned for its student trips to Europe as well as its leisure travel expertise. His motto was "Ask the man who has been there." Eventually it also developed a large corporate travel and incentive division. Throughout his life Phil remained good friends with his former college tour leaders and many of the young people who went on his hand-crafted Osborne Tours. After selling his travel agency in 1990, he created Bush Homes of Africa, a specialty company that allowed its travelers to stay on private ranches across that continent and enjoy the unforgettable experience of the African wildlife, its landscape and people in ways few other people ever see. Later, the business expanded its operation to include parts of South America and Australia, but Africa remained foremost in his heart. He made over 100 trips there, the most recent during the summer of 2006. It was not unusual to hear his friends around the world refer to him as "Bwana Phil" or "The Lion King" though many simply called him "Uncle Phil." Phil not only had a passion for exploring our world, but he also had a deep commitment to sharing the experience with everyone else. Countless former travelers will tell you that he changed their lives more than anyone they ever met. To him a stranger was only a friend he had yet to meet. On his 70th and 75th birthdays, hundreds of friends from across the country and around the world came to celebrate with him at the Fox Egyptian ballroom. Their stories of discovery trips with Phil were endless. He had clearly expanded their horizons in ways only they could so joyfully describe. Beyond his travel career, he was also devoted to the arts (walking into his home is like walking into a museum) and somehow found time over the years to give back to the communities he so loved. He understood the joy of giving. In Atlanta, he was on the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Darlington School, Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta International School, Atlanta International Museum of Art and Design, Friends of Atlanta Library, Lee Harper and Dancers, African Wildlife Foundation, CARE, African Fund for Endangered Wildlife and Cheetah Conservancy. In the latter case, he became an instigator in the purchase of land in Namibia for a cheetah preserve which has become a noted success in its efforts to preserve that species. Additionally, he helped found the Ngare Sergoi Rhino Preserve in Kenya - now the model for other private rhino conservation efforts in East Africa where the endangered black rhino is now beginning to rebound - despite ongoing poaching. Beyond these efforts, he was also a strong advocate for Literary Action, The Council for Battered Women and the Atlanta Community Food Bank as well as countless education programs around the world. Phil died peacefully at his home in Ansley Park Sunday morning. He had recently suffered a stroke. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Betsy and Jasper Osborne of Atlanta, and his sister, Betsy Osborne Murphy. He is survived by his sister, Barbara Garland from Orlando, FL, brother-in-law, Bob Murphy of Atlanta, niece Linda Stone of Atlanta, nephew David Murphy of Atlanta, nieces Nancy Seaman and Debbie Shepard of Orlando, grand nephews Scott Finsthwait of Atlanta, Derek and Ricky Seaman of Orlando, grand nieces Elizabeth Carson, Christy and Whitney Shepard of Atlanta, Amy Shepard and Piper Seaman of Orlando. A memorial service with subsequent reception is set for 1 p.m. Friday, September 28, at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Northwest Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends contribute a gift in Phil's name to Zoo Atlanta (where a shade tree will be placed in the African Plains section of the park) or to one of the above-referenced organizations that Phil supported. For more information you may reference "PhilipOsborne" at www.caringbridge.org.