Near the start of his older brother’s funeral, Donny Osmond stepped up to the pulpit of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Orem, Utah, and shared a recent story about Alan he hoped would set the tone for the service.
Just two weeks earlier, Donny Osmond had been in Las Vegas, where he performs five nights a week, sitting in a room with one of Alan’s eight sons, David, and Glenn Beck.
At one point, David Osmond called his dad on FaceTime. During the call, Donny and Alan spoke of the love they have for each other. Then, Alan asked to speak with Beck.
Alan proceeded to share his love for the gospel and his Savior — a heartfelt testimony that moved Beck to tears, Donny Osmond said.
Alan knew he was going to die soon, Donny said. And during that FaceTime call, Alan told Beck he planned to find Adam and Eve and tell them that “one bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch” — referencing The Osmonds’ No. 1 hit from 1971.
That line elicited a ton of laughs from inside the chapel (Osmond encouraged the younger kids who likely didn’t understand the joke to go and ask their grandparents).
But the story also provided a snapshot of what mattered most to Alan Osmond.
Yes, there was the Osmond Brothers’ rise to fame on “The Andy Williams Show” (Alan Osmond was 12), the pop hit “One Bad Apple” and the height of Osmondmania. But at the foundation of it all was — and still remains — a firm belief in Jesus Christ.
And it’s that faith that took center stage Saturday afternoon as family, friends and fans gathered to remember Alan Osmond.
‘He was a missionary at heart’
“I want to put a charge out to all of my grandkids to meet me in paradise.”
Alan Osmond uttered those words in the late afternoon of April 18 — two days before his death at the age of 76.
That quote was on the cover of the funeral program, underneath a picture of a wide-smiling Alan Osmond.
Osmond, who married his wife, Suzanne, more than 50 years ago in the Provo, Utah, temple, had eight sons, 30 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Organist Kendra Holt had to play several verses of “How Great Thou Art” as all of the Osmonds in attendance (including Alan’s siblings and their families) filed into the chapel and filled up all of the rows. This left the overflow space open to the public.
Early on, Donny Osmond joked to those attending not to be “frightened” by the fact that all of Alan Osmond’s eight sons would be speaking during the service.
The Osmond Brothers were known for running a tight ship, and the funeral service maintained that same brisk spirit of show business: Each son had received the guideline to keep their remarks to three minutes.
Even under such a short time frame, all eight sons got emotional as they spoke of their dad’s steadfast faith and positive outlook on life — especially as he navigated the debilitating challenges of multiple sclerosis for nearly 40 years.
Scott Osmond teared up as he shared that he never heard his dad complain, even on the toughest of days. Alan Osmond, he said, had the kind of attitude needed to endure a disease like MS. His dad even looked forward to physical therapy sessions, he said, because it gave him a chance to share his testimony of the Savior with others.
“He was happy, happy always, no matter what was going on,” said Mike Osmond, Alan’s oldest son.
And although Mike joked that he was the favorite, he acknowledged that he really came in third. For his dad, he said, the Lord was No. 1 and his wife, Suzanne, was a very close second.
All of Alan’s sons seemed to recognize the utmost importance of the Lord in their father’s life, using their brief speaking time to share their own testimonies of the gospel because they knew it’s what their dad would want them to do.
“He was a missionary at heart. … He pointed us to the Savior in everything,” son David Osmond said.
Celebrating with music — and fireworks
Alan Osmond passed on to his sons a love of the Savior and, as evident from the service’s two musical numbers, the Osmond skill of harmonization.
Donny Osmond was emotional after Alan’s eight sons stood side by side to perform Perry Como’s “I May Never Pass This Way Again” in a style reminiscent of the Osmond Brothers’ early barbershop-quartet days.
It’s a number he used to sing with Alan, who back in the day taught his siblings all of the different parts. Donny Osmond said he could hear his brother’s voice as his nephews performed the song — “I don’t know how you got through that,” he told them as his voice choked with emotion.
With their father’s casket draped in an American flag below them, the eight sons also performed the a cappella version of “Love at Home” that The Osmonds would regularly sing to close out their firesides.
Alan Osmond was the leader of the band, whose vocals provided the foundation of the Osmonds’ tight-knit harmonies. But he also provided a foundation for his family through his faith in Jesus Christ — a quality Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledged in his closing remarks.
Elder Rasband said Alan Osmond’s family is happy because it is based on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
“I know that you have stayed true to your innermost beliefs in a difficult industry,” he said.
Alan Osmond “faced death with zero fear,” his son, Scott, said. His challenges increased his faith and love for the Savior, and didn’t define him but refined him, his sons said.
David Osmond, who was diagnosed with MS at 26, recalled some advice from his dad: “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. .. “You can be bitter, or you can be better.”
It’s with that same conviction that Alan Osmond’s sons, while heartbroken, also rejoiced.
The word “celebration” came up several times throughout the service.
And after the funeral, as family members gathered 20 minutes south at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery for Alan Osmond’s interment, a bold celebratory display literally filled the air at 2:30 p.m.: a colorful firework show to honor the man who helped establish Stadium of Fire, the long-running Fourth of July extravaganza held at Brigham Young University’s football stadium.
It’s exactly what Alan Osmond would’ve wanted, his family said.
“This is a celebration of life,” Donny Osmond said during the funeral. “It is a sad moment because we miss him, but it’s a happy moment for him.”
