DeKalb County Board remembers late colleague Jerry Osland

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Board spent time remembering one of their own, the late Jerry Osland, of Sandwich, who died Feb. 2 and represented District 12 as a Republican on the board.

Wednesday was the first County Board meeting since Osland’s death. Many of his colleagues used their time Wednesday to grieve, reminisce and honor Olsand’s legacy as an elected official.

DeKalb County Republican Party Chair Tim Bagby, a Board member from District 3, said Osland was proud of the corner of DeKalb County he was born and raised in.

“The way he said Sandwich let you know what he thought of his hometown,” Osland said. “He was proud of his prowess as a football player and things like that. He was a very unique individual.”

Rhonda Henke, a Republican representing District 1, said she thinks Osland’s sense of humor was second to none, but said there was more to his legacy.

“What I would like to remember Jerry by is he was a staunch supporter of anything that had to do with seniors,” Henke said. “He was adamant that we care for them.”

Osland, as well as Henke, was a member of the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center oversight board, which was formed in the aftermath of a failed effort to sell the nursing home to third party buyers. Bagby said Osland was “kind of stubborn on some issues,” including solar, but mentioned how flexible he could be when it came down to it – particularly with the nursing home.

“He was, along with the rest of the board, among the people who when we had to face the tough decision to sell the nursing home voted to sell the nursing home,” Bagby said. “Then, when the circumstances changed and the ground had shifted, he was flexible enough to not only support keeping her open, but he actually lended his hand to be on the nursing home committee.”

Osland was elected to the DeKalb County Board in 2016 and maintained the position until he died Feb. 2, according to his obituary. His time on the DeKalb County Board officially ended Wednesday when his seat was declared vacant.

The local Republican Party will be tasked with filling the seat.

Appreciation for Osland’s contributions to the community came from across the partisan aisle, too. Half of the people who took time to honor Osland on Feb. 19 were Democrats.

Rukisha Crawford, a Democrat from District 6, called Osland “an awesome friend.”

“I just wanted to say thank you for the peaches he gave me, thank you for the jokes that we shared,” Crawford said. “I learned a lot from him.”

Osland’s ability to crack a joke was a common theme among those who reflected on his legacy. Democrat Mary Cozad, representing District 10, said she appreciated his “mildly snarky but very funny” sense of humor.

“Those of us that were kind of sitting back there, close to him, would be cracking up and trying to keep from giggling,” Cozad said. “The rest of the board wouldn’t have any idea what was going on. That was enjoyable.”

Democrat Terri Mann-Lamb, of District 7, said Osland took her under his wing when she was first elected to the board. She, like many others, described Osland as someone who could passionately stand his ground, but also said he had a compassionate, thoughtful and caring side to him.

Mann-Lamb said she saw that side of him before she left for an overseas trip.

“He had seen something in the news and he was concerned,” Mann-Lamb said. “He said, ‘I have something for you,’ while out in the parking lot and gave me pepper spray, and said ‘I want you to come home safe.’”

She said she felt “a huge loss” when she arrived for the DeKalb County Board meeting on Wednesday and didn’t see his truck in the parking lot.

“I thanked him for everything he gave me and taught me,” Mann-Lamb said.

Republican Roy Plote, of District 11, served alongside Osland on the board’s highway committee for years.

“He is the one person that could hold [DeKalb County engineer] Nathan [Schwartz] to the candle and get away with it,” Plote said. “His knowledge was definitely a unique experience in his world with doing underground tiling, and installations and waterworks, etc. He will be missed.”

Bagby concurred with Plote’s sentiment.

“He was not afraid of any administrator or any member of the public,” Bagby said. “He would ask whatever he wanted to ask, sometimes in a frank, friendly way and sometimes in a way that let you know he meant business. But if Saint Peter is giving him a thumbs up tonight, I think it’s because of his greatest virtue, which was he was a Cardinals fans.”