Olive May Osmond (née Davis; May 4, 1925 – May 9, 2004) was the matriarch of the American Osmond singing family.

Life and career

Osmond was born in

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...

, Idaho, the daughter of Vera Ann (née Nichols) and Thomas Martin Davis. She moved to

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

where she worked as a secretary. There she met and fell in love with

George Osmond George Virl Osmond Sr. (October 13, 1917November 6, 2007) was the patriarch of the singing Osmond family. Life and career Osmond was born in Etna, Wyoming, the son of Agnes LaVerna (née Van Noy) and Rulon Osmond. Rulon died at age 24 on Novem ...

. They married on December 1, 1944. She was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. Their first two children, Virl and Tom, were born with a degenerative condition which left them nearly

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

. Doctors warned the couple that future children had a higher chance of having hearing loss, but George and Olive wanted a large family. The other children,

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

, Wayne,

Merrill Merrill may refer to: Places in the United States *Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska *Merrill, Iowa * Merrill, Maine *Merrill, Michigan *Merrill, Mississippi, an unincorporated community near Lucedale in George County *Merrill, Oregon *Merrill, Wis ...

Jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family (biology), family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For examp ...

, Donny,

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

, and Jimmy, were born able to hear. George formed a

barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment, or a cappella. The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...

consisting of Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay. Singer

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

' father saw their act at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

, and from 1962-71, the

Osmond Brothers The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

appeared on ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

''. Donny made his debut on the program the day after his sixth birthday. The brothers eventually left ''The Andy Williams Show'' and were regulars on ''The Jerry Lewis Show'' for a year before launching a successful recording career. They—including Donny, Marie, and Jimmy as solo artists—scored several hits, The Osmonds' biggest being "One Bad Apple", which climbed to #1. From 1976-79, Donny and Marie hosted '' The Donny and Marie Show''. Marie played Olive in the 1982 TV film ''Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family''. Another 2001 TV movie, ''Inside the Osmonds'', produced by Jimmy, depicted the brothers' egos, George's fiscal mismanagement, and the family's quest to build a multi-media empire as leading to their downfall. As a nurturer and because of her love for all children who are struggling, Olive leveraged her family's fame to start The Osmond Foundation, now known as the

Children's Miracle Network Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: Réseau Enfants-Santé (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of 10 million children each ...

which Marie continues to support. Olive Osmond died on May 9, 2004, which was

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

in the US and five days after her 79th birthday. The cause of her death was listed as complications from a stroke she had suffered on November 13, 2001. She died surrounded by her family, and is still remembered and loved by people everywhere as "Mother Osmond." Olive was survived by husband George (who died on November 6, 2007), their nine children, 55 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren. Olive shares a birthday with

Katherine Jackson Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse, born Kattie B. Screws; May 4, 1930) is the matriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers that includes her children Michael and Janet Jackson. Early life Jackson was born as Kattie B. Scruse on May 4, 1 ...

(born May 4, 1930), matriarch of the

Jackson family The Jackson family is an American family of musicians and entertainers from Gary, Indiana. Many of the children of Joseph Walter (or Joe) and Katherine Esther Jackson were successful musicians, notably the brothers that formed the Motown boy b ...

, who performed in a similar group, and shared a friendly rivalry with the Osmonds in the 1970s.

Children

George and Olive Osmond had nine children: *(George) Virl Osmond Jr. (born October 19, 1945) * Thomas Rulon "Tom" Osmond (born October 26, 1947) * Alan Ralph Osmond (born June 22, 1949) * (Melvin) Wayne Osmond (born August 28, 1951) * Merrill Davis Osmond (born April 30, 1953) * Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) * Donald "Donny" Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) * Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) * James Arthur "Jimmy" Osmond (born April 16, 1963)

References

External links

Official Osmond Family Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osmond, Olive 1925 births 2004 deaths American Latter Day Saints People from Ogden, Utah People from Oneida County, Idaho Osmond family (show business)