Country club to host fundraiser
Money will go to family of Ryan Osler, a firefighter and Santa Clarita native who died in a rollover crash last year
For the Oslers, Santa Clarita has always been home and its residents have always been family.
When Ryan Osler, a Santa Clarita native and resident and Ventura County fire engineer, was killed in a rollover crash in a water tender truck last September, the community rallied around his loved ones to ensure they were cared for emotionally and physically.
“I can definitely speak for all of us that we are all so grateful,” Ryan’s wife Jennifer Osler said. “It’s overwhelming. There’s been such an outpouring of help.”
Ryan and Jennifer Osler met their sophomore year at Saugus High School on Valentine’s Day and began dating 11 days later. They built their life in the community they grew up in and live within a mile radius of both of their parents.
After Ryan’s death, Jennifer and their two children Amanda, 13, and Brandon, 11, were surrounded by both their families and friends from Santa Clarita Valley Church of Christ and firefighters at the Moorpark station where Ryan worked.
Jennifer and the kids lived on the donations of community members for three full months after Ryan’s death. She works part time at a pediatrician’s office in Tarzana where she has been since high school, but couldn’t have gotten by without additional help, she said.
Even people who have never met the Oslers have offered their resources and support for Jennifer and her family. Missy Carter, Director of Membership and Marketing at the Valencia Country Club, has never met Jennifer in person but heard about the Olsers’ story through mutual friends on Facebook and decided she wanted to help.
On June 26, the Valencia Country Club will host a golf tournament fundraiser where all the proceeds will go to Jennifer and the kids. For $200 per person, attendees will get 18 holes of golf and breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“This is the first time we’ve done something like this for a first responder killed in a line of duty,” Carter said. “I just wanted to do something nice for her.”
Married to a Los Angeles firefighter herself, Carter wanted to extend a helping hand from one first responder’s wife to another.
“There is a brotherhood in the fire department,” Carter said. “We’re rallying around her and her family.”
Ryan Osler had worked for the fire department since 1999 and had been a fire engineer in Ventura County since 2006, the same place where his father retired doing the same job.
“The whole department is special to our family,” Jennifer Osler said. “There’s a long history with the department.”
According to Jennifer, her husband was an allaround athlete and loved all sports including golf. She said he would have loved to have golfed at the Valencia Country Club, but was definitely not the type to like any attention and would never have asked for an event in his honor.
“I’m so proud and privileged to live here and be a part of a community takes care of each other and pulls together when something like this happens,” Jennifer said.