These are the remembrances as they ran in the July 2018 print edition of the paper, many other obituaries, and longer obituaries for those listed below, are posted here as soon as the news comes in.
Marilyn “Mimi” Drake Osmun, 91, May 17th in Syracuse, NY. Central New York’s longtime diva of Dixieland, Mimi was born in Syracuse during the height of the Jazz Age. Mimi’s musicality knew no bounds. She played piano, trombone, ukulele, banjolin, and pretty much anything else from which she could coax notes. Some of the ensembles in which she performed were The Rhythm-Airs Big Band with whom she was a charter member, the Coal-Heavers, the Liverpool Community Concert Band, the Vann Harris Quintet, the Doctors’ Big Band, and the Central New York Police and Fire Band. She also led her own combos such as the Tri-County Four (and later Five), and most notably Mimi’s Music Makers which showcased a wide variety of personnel over four melodious decades. During a lengthy run of summers at Sylvan Beach her bands spiced up their performances with comedy routines such as “Kon-Tiki Kapers” and later “Bruno’s Beach House Blackouts.”
In later years, Mimi’s zest for life rarely ebbed. She hosted New Year’s Eve jam sessions at Weber’s Restaurant for many years accompanied by her longtime partner, trumpeter Gabe Harris. She became a member of the Lock 52 Jazz Band. She
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