Wayne Osmond died at the age of 73 right when the new year began — on January 1, 2025. The late guitarist’s death was revealed by his family one day later. Osmond’s brother, Merrill Osmond, broke the news on Facebook, writing that he “immediately drove to the hospital in SLC to see him” to say “goodbye.”
“My brother was a saint before he came into this world, and he will leave as an even greater saint than he came in,” the Osmond sibling wrote. “I’ve never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met. … My brother Wayne endured much. He gave it his all. His legacy will go down as someone who was not only a genius in his ability to write music, but was able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God.”
Osmond died from a similar health complication that he faced in the past. Learn more about him below.
Who Was Wayne Osmond?
For decades, Osmond was a guitarist for the Osmond Brothers, which later became the quintet known as The Osmonds. From the 1960s to the late 2010s, he performed alongside his brothers Alan, Merrill, Jay and Donny Osmond, who later performed with sister Marie Osmond. The brother-sister duo became known as Donny & Marie.
How Was Wayne Osmond’s Health?
Osmond experienced a few health issues before he died. In 1997, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was cleared of the tumor later on, but, in 2012, Osmond had a stroke and survived. According to Deseret, the stroke left him unable to play guitar professionally. Furthermore, the operations he underwent to treat his cancer led to hearing loss.
“I’ve had a wonderful life,” he told the outlet in 2018. “And you know, being able to hear is not all that it’s cracked up to be, it really isn’t. My favorite thing now is to take care of my yard. I turn my hearing aids off, deaf as a doorknob, tune everything out, it’s really joyful.”
How Did Wayne Osmond Die?
Osmond died of a stroke, his brother Merrill noted in a Facebook tribute to his late sibling.
“When I learned that my dear brother Wayne had a massive stroke, my immediate response was to fall to my knees and pray for him to receive the assurance that his mission had been accomplished, and he was successful in this endeavor in many ways,” the Osmond brother wrote.
