Some of those lifestyle choices came directly from Osso in her self-written obituary, while her only child, Monjoni Osso, shared other insights this week about his mother.
Osso died July 2 at a local nursing home. She was 71.
“If you are reading this, it must mean that I’ve moved on to the next thing … whatever that may be,” she wrote in her obituary.
Osso, whose life ambition was to end world hunger, served with the Free Store in Cincinnati, but is best known locally as director of Shared Harvest, a position she held from 1984 to 2019 when she retired.
She was the face and voice for Shared Harvest, and when money needed to be raised or information needed to be distributed, Osso was your leader.
Working to provide food to the less fortunate “gave her the motivation she was looking for,” her 39-year-old son said.
Terry Perdue, who replaced Osso, called her a “one of a kind” person who wasn’t afraid to speak out during controversial conversations.
She said what others in the room were thinking.
She concentrated on those who were underserved, underrepresented, Perdue said. When talking about the segment of the population, he said: “We are that voice.”
When told about how Osso was different at home than at work, he wasn’t surprised. He said Osso would “step out of her comfort zone” for those she thought needed assistance.
But by the time her day ended, Osso was physically and mentally exhausted, her son said. Part of that came from the heavy workload, while being an introvert in a position that required an extrovert wore her down, her son said.
There were nights when his mother fell asleep soon after she got home.
“She was very strong-willed to her benefit and detriment,” he said. “She extremely wanted to make the world a better place for everyone, not for herself, me, or her family. She fought so long that it took it out of her.”
It was like she wore a mask out in public.
“She was very, very good at not letting people see how much energy it took from her being that person,” he said of her role at Shared Harvest.
When she retired six years ago, Osso vanished out of the public eye. She rarely left her home because she didn’t want people to see her as Tino Osso, Shared Harvest Foodbank executive director.
That person no longer existed. At least, according to Osso.
Osso’s young adult life included heavy drug use and heartache as an adult with the loss of her parents and brother.
“Having spent my young adult years in a haze of, shall we say, pharmaceuticals, I did some pretty stupid things, and one of those things landed me in trouble with the law. This was a pivotal moment for me, as apparently I needed a punch in the face to make me listen to my heart,” she wrote in her obituary.
Monjoni is an only child and he’s not sure whether his mother ever married. When he was born at Mercy Hospital, his mother named him Mongioni. But a nurse changed the “g” to a “j” and subtracted a letter.
So he goes by Monjoni.
“(Monjoni), by the way, turned out to be a wonderful, caring man, in tune with the challenges of his time and, in true liberal fashion, working to change his world to one of equality, opportunity and justice,” she wrote in her obituary.
He was asked about his mother’s complimentary words in her obituary. There was silence on the phone. Followed by crying.
He read his mother’s obituary two days after she died. He has cried so many tears since then, he has become dehydrated a lot of the days.
“It’s really hard to know that I will never hear her say she’s proud of me,” he said. “The loneliness is really hard.”
Now he’s left remembering some of his mother’s favorite activities at home. The two of them spent hours watching “Star Trek.” And for his mother’s 60th birthday, he collected a signed poster of the living cast members.
“May you live long and prosper, one to beam up Mr. Scott,” her obituary reads.
Journal-News Columnist Rick McCrabb writes about local people and events every Sunday. If you have an idea for a story, contact him at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
TINA OSSO SERVICES
There will be a celebration of life service held from 2-4 p.m. Aug. 9 at Shared Harvest Foodbank, 5901 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, at the hunger awareness center behind the warehouse.
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