| Updated: 8/01/2011 6:57 am |
Published: 7/31/2011 5:14 pm |
LITTLE ROCK, AR - Friends and family from all over came to Little Rock Sunday to remember philanthropist Jennings Osborne who passed away Wednesday at age 67 from heart problems.
Known for his Christmas lights and fireworks, Osborne touched many lives across the country. It was easy to see just how many, when you saw the number of people who attended Sunday's visitation to honor him.
"Everybody that knows Jennings knows that he's a great guy. He's kind, generous, funny, friendly, can be quiet, but just a great guy. He is what you see is what you get," said former employee Jeff Montgomery.
Montgomery started working for Osborne ten years ago as his freelance photographer.
"It was always easy because people were having fun at an Osborne event. You know, whether it was barbeque, or a Razorback game or fireworks someplace, people were having fun. Jennings was all about people having fun," said Montgomery.
Montgomery says Osborne was all about random acts of kindness from the feeding hungry to helping thirsty Hog's fans watching the Cotton Bowl in Florida.
"We were watching the game at an ESPN club down there, and as we, as the game was getting over, all these people were flooding by our table thanking him. I didn't realize what was going on. All through the game, any time the Hogs did something good, he was taking notes of who was cheering, and he picked up their tabs. You know, random. Random, but so generous, so giving. He was about Arkansans," recalled Montgomery.
And, those Arkansans will continue remembering the man whose kindness Montgomery will never forget.
"He was a generous man that gave everything he had, and people won't forget it. He's made a difference in millions of people's lives," he says.
The funeral is Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock with a private burial following the service.
