Help Ozzy’s family through their loss

On 22 February 2023, our long-time friend Mark ‘Ozzy’ Alan Osborne lost his battle with bowel cancer. He was just 39 years old. Among the broken-hearted he left behind are his wife Tandra and their two girls Zoe (3) and Isla (7). We’re doing this to rally around them.

After experiencing pain in his side, Ozzy went to get checked out. In April 2021, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer. One year and 10 months later, he would take his last breath. Tragically, he wouldn’t make it to his 40th birthday.

After tying the knot in 2013, Mark & Tandra’s love grew to include Isla, and then Zoe. Life was busy and fulfilling. Ozzy worked in the maintenance team at Wesley College for 15 years, but he was also putting his previous cabinetmaking experience to good use by renovating the family home. You know those people who are naturally capable at almost everything? That was Ozzy. And it’s why his diagnosis was such a shock.

If you have an Ozzy in your life, you’re lucky. A larrikin who never met a dance floor unworthy of his trademark backward shimmy, Ozzy could inject fun into any situation. He knew his way around a wakeboard and a football. And he knew the frustration of being a Saints supporter all too well. But the thing I’ll always remember is how good it felt to be in his orbit. Everyone deserves an Ozzy, and no one understood this more than his high school sweetheart, Tandra.

Tandra is now faced with a future that was once inconceivable: life after Oz.

Imagine coming to grips with the loss of your partner; someone you’d loved more than half your life. At the same time, somehow helping your children through the grief and confusion of it all too. Outside this emotional toll, there’s the life-changing impact of his loss – providing the future for Tandra, Isla and Zoe that Ozzy would have wanted.

Tandra and the girls have been through so much – let’s help them find their way through this painful time by pitching in to ease some financial stress. Your generosity helps no matter the dollar figure, so please don’t feel like any amount is too small.

#Ozzy5