Alexander Osiper
Canterbury — Alexander “Ozzie” Osiper, 93, passed away at The William W. Backus Hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Born on June 29, 1924, at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was the son of the late Alexis and Mary (Kuzmetovich) Osiper.
He was predeceased by his twin brothers, David and George Osiper of Plainfield; and his sisters, Nadya Burack and Helen Zalis of New Jersey. He was predeceased by the love of his life, his loving and devoted wife of 71 years, Anna (Lutsky) Osiper of Canterbury, whom he met at the age of nine.
He is survived by his daughters, Allison Waters of Rome, Ga. and Anne Osiper of Canterbury; along with several nieces and nephews.
He and Anna were married July 29, 1945, during World War II, while he earned the rank of sergeant as he served in the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic. They were dairy farmers until 1957, he also worked and was a proud member of the Carpenters Union Local 30 and later Local 24 out of New London going from apprentice to project superintendent until he retired at the age of 65. He attended Central Connecticut State University where he received a teaching certificate to enable him to be an instructor for the carpenters union apprenticeship program which allowed him to pass along his years of “know how” that earned him the moniker of “Oz the Wizard.” Alexander was one of the few people who loved his work. His favorite job was the challenging Norwich Water Filtration Plant, dam and spillway project in Lebanon. He also enjoyed operating heavy equipment at his gravel pit.
His hobbies included raising homing pigeons which he began at the age of seven and enjoyed for the rest of his life, polka dancing with his family and serving for many years as the “sergeant of arms” at Dick Pillar’s Polkabration at Ocean Beach Park in New London. He was a devoted and vocal season ticket holder for the CT Sun and enjoyed the games and meeting and talking with all of the people there. His favorite pastime was making people laugh while he was driving them crazy, like his childhood heroes, the Marx Brothers.
Alexander’s greatest love was that for his family which he showed by being a loving husband and father, and a dedicated provider and protector of his family. He always said, “all his sons were daughters” and he made sure to instill in his daughters his beliefs that they should “never take anyone’s crap” and “if someone else can do it, so can you,” which he followed until his passing.
The family would like to thank all of the home nurse’s aides, visiting nurses, therapists, medical professionals, friends and family whose support allowed Alexander to live out his life at home as he wished.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Alexander’s memory to his favorite former CT Sun player, fellow native New Yorker, Tina Charles’ foundation, which provides defibrillators in memory of her late aunt: Hopey’s Heart Foundation, P.O. Box 340551, Jamaica, NY 11434.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Woyasz & Son Funeral Home, 141 Central Ave., Norwich. Visitation will take place from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, at the funeral home. Burial will be at Carey Cemetery at a later date.