Kevin M. Osborn ’81
Kevin Michael Osborn
1959 – 2018
Kevin Michael Osborn, of Park Ridge, New Jersey, died on June 15, 2018 from complications of lung cancer. He was 58.
Kevin was born in Summit, New Jersey, on September 20, 1959, the second son of Marjorie Catherine Phipps and Norman Vance Osborn. He graduated from Tenafly High School and Wesleyan University, where he met his wife, Susan Kiley. They were married in 1989 and the first of their four children was born a year later. A singularly devoted working stay-at-home dad, Kevin reveled in creating sweet surprises and literary activities for his kids: “Mystery Trips” in which they piled in the car for surprise outings to the zoo or museum; tucking riddles and quotations in school lunches; Shakespeare in the Park picnics where he would read aloud the children’s version of the play prior to the show; family vacations to Cape Cod; and the family’s annual Easter egg hunt. When there was no soccer coach, Kevin stepped in with no prior experience. When the drama club needed a play, Kevin stepped up to write one (one of several plays he wrote, beginning in college). He was often the only man at PTO meetings and was known as one of “the class moms.”
No surprise that of the more than three dozen books he wrote on topics ranging from classical mythology to medical literature to sports, he was particularly proud of his books on parenting and his titles for young adults on justice and tolerance. In the last decade of his life, he continued to write as a futurist, focusing his keen intelligence on analysis of social and economic trends.
Kevin’s encyclopedic memory and love of puzzles made him a formidable opponent at brain-games. He enjoyed mystery novels and took pride in his ability to complete the New York Times crossword (in pen). He won a Nintendo set as a contestant on Jeopardy, and was always as good a loser as a winner, except when it came to Scrabble. His prodigious memory also meant that he could, and would, joyously retrieve and sing!, virtually any song from The Beatles’ songbook without dropping a line, and was never wanting for a relevant statistic during a ballgame. Kevin was a diehard Mets fan through the team’s occasional good, and numerous bad, seasons. He sat in the left field stands for the 1969 playoffs and attended the legendary sixth game of the 1986 World Series in which the Mets came from behind to beat the Boston Red Sox. His final attendance at Citi Field was just weeks before his death. He was a founding member of Mariner’s Gate, one of the first men’s groups in the country, whose purpose was, according to a 1997 New York Times article featuring the group, “to wrestle with the post-feminist tangle of what it means to be an American man in the closing years of the 20th century.”
Kevin was diagnosed with lung cancer in the fall of 2017 and throughout his treatment maintained an attitude of willed optimism that reflected the depth of his desire to live. His death is a profound loss for his family and friends. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held later this summer. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Susan Kiley; four children Megan (Jon Burklund), Ian, Molly (Ross Taylor), and Casey; four siblings Tim Kaufman-Osborn (Sharon), Susan Osborn, Barbara Osborn (Johnnie Drimmer) and Marc Osborn (Lisa Kelly); and 10 nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Tri-Boro