Alan Osmond’s death is therefore not simply the loss of another entertainer from an earlier era.
It is the loss of one of the people who helped build that era.
For fans who grew up watching the Osmonds on television, buying their records or attending their concerts, his passing closes another chapter in a remarkable period of American popular music.
For his family, however, his legacy is likely to be much more personal.
He was the brother who guided them.
The husband who built a life with Suzanne.
The father who raised eight sons.
The grandfather and great-grandfather whose family continued to grow.
And the man who, even after illness changed the course of his career, continued to emphasize faith, family and perseverance.
Alan Osmond may have spent much of his early life under bright stage lights.
But the greatest measure of his life may not be found in the number of records sold or television appearances he made.
