Wednesday, May 30, 2012

My Dad


The Memorial Day holiday earlier this week was especially poignant for me this year.  My father, Steve Osgood, passed away a couple of weeks ago. 

Dad was a WWII veteran, where he won a Bronze Star for valor at the Battle of the Bulge.  He was wounded, retaining shrapnel in his leg, and he almost never talked about his war experiences except to say he drove General Patton around for a while and, with other soldiers, went swimming in beer vats in Saarbrucken. 

He came home to Pittsburgh to start his long and meritorious career in advertising and public relations, first at U.S. Steel, and then in successive small agencies of his own.  I was always interested in writing, and he helped me get my start, hiring me first as a teen as a part-time secretary and bookkeeper and, later, when I joined the Pittsburgh working world, as a writer. 

He also gave my cousin Lee Gutkind a job in advertising and PR, encouraging his interest in writing.  Lee is now well known in the Creative Nonfiction genre. 

Dad’s life had its ups and downs.  One of the things that was particularly special to me is that recently, as his health declined, nearly every one of his friends whom I saw mentioned, unprompted, how proud he was of me and my writing successes. 

I was proud of him, too.  And I’m going to miss him.  I do miss him.   

Goodbye, Dad.

12 comments:

Mollie Bryan said...

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad. Wishing you much love and healing.

Terri Thayer said...

So sorry to hear about your father. How nice that you know how proud he was of your writing. That's a gift.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Thanks, Mollie.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

My thoughts are with you, Linda.

Linda O. Johnston said...

It definitely was a gift, Terri, one I'll always cherish.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Thanks, Joanna.

Betty Hechtman said...

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad. I know you were worried about him when we talked at Malice.

I liked reading about his accomplishments. He sounds like he had quite a life. It's nice that you had him for so long and he had a chance to enjoy all your success. I'm sure he was very, very proud of you.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Thanks, Betty. Yes, his health was failing when I saw him after Malice and the Festival of Mystery. I went home for a short while but then headed back to Pittsburgh.

Chrystle Fiedler said...

So sorry to hear your sad news Linda. He sounds like a great man. Thinking of you - Chrystle

Chrystle Fiedler said...

So sorry to hear your sad news Linda. He sounds like a great man. Thinking of you - Chrystle

Dru said...

Linda, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. I'm glad he got to see your work.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Thanks, Chrystle and Dru.