Once the age-difference issue was put to rest with Annelle’s parents, the young couple enjoyed
getting to know each other without the fear of scorn. Yet, while their age difference was not an
issue for either Bo or Annelle, Bo realized that she was in a very different place than he. Annelle was
very smart and involved in most every activity in school, where she would soon begin her senior
year. There was also another aspect at play that would eventually come to a head and secure their
relationship for good.
As one would expect from a girl as outgoing as Annelle Coker, there was no shortage of suitors
ready and willing to step in and give Bo a run for his money. Yet, Bo (being the southern gentleman
he was) never acted rudely to any of the boys vying for Annelle’s attention. However, after some
careful thought was given to the situation, there came a time when Bo said to Annelle, “You have a
lot going on in your life right now, and I think it might be best if I step out of the way and let you enjoy your time with these other fellas.” Annelle replied with an answer that would touch Bo’s heart,
removing any doubt about her feelings for him and fortifying their bond. “Well, I can see myself
without them; however, I cannot see myself without you.”
That, my friends, was all it took. Bo was seriously and forevermore hooked. The first summer after
they met was magical. They continued to get to know each other better and spent every moment
they could together. Before Annelle started school in the fall, Bo bought a ring and told her he wanted to marry her. Annelle piped in to share, “I was shocked! I had assumed that, eventually, Bo would
get tired of me and move on. I was just a high school girl, and there he was…so handsome, so wise
and so far ahead of any of the boys that I knew.” As surprised as she was when she learned about the
ring, Annelle could not wait to say yes and insisted that they wake everyone to tell them the news.
Annelle would spend her senior year planning her wedding and falling deeper in love with Bo.
That time for Bo was filled with opportunity to practice patience and understanding, as he watched
the girl he loved live out her final year of high school in full force. The mature Bo recognized that
Annelle needed to be free to enjoy all that season of her life held, and he stepped back to allow it
to happen. Then, as quickly as it began, the year ended. Annelle had two ceremonies ahead… her
graduation and her wedding.
On July 31, 1983, Pinehill Pentecostal Holiness Church in Turbeville was filled to capacity as
500 friends, family and dignitaries came to witness the joining of the dynamic young couple. After
a honeymoon to the Bahamas, the couple would move into their dream home, a beautiful, old,
stately home, complete with a wrap-around porch, built in 1913. Bo and Annelle learned that they
each had grown up admiring the property – Annelle so much so that she had asked to cut the grass
there for free, just to be near it. Knowing this, Bo managed to buy the house and renovate it in time
for them to move in as newlyweds.
The fairytale life continued for the Osbornes. Bo started his own construction business and Annelle helped with bookkeeping. As Bo promised her parents, Annelle went to college in the first year
of their marriage; however, by the second year she decided she would rather be working. Bo helped
his wife start a flower shop on their back porch, and she flourished doing what she truly loved.
In 1987, Bo and Annelle became proud parents when their first son, Justin, was born. By the time
the dust settled on her child-bearing journey, Annelle was the happy mother to three more sons,
Wes, Joe and Drew. Bo’s business continued to grow, he had been elected Mayor of the town he
had grown up in, and they had a beautiful family and were blessed with many friends. Life indeed
was wonderful.
In 1996, the Osborne family decided to move to the big city. Selling their Turbeville home, they
purchased a beautiful house in the city of Florence. Like most marriages, theirs had been filled with
challenges to overcome as well as wonderful times to enjoy. Bo’s business continued to thrive and
Annelle continued to run their home and take care of their sons and her husband. For years, all was
well in the Osborne home. Then, in 2006, the unthinkable happened. Annelle found a lump in her
breast that would turn out to be cancer.
The same man who walked into her life all those years ago and had been her rock would not let
her down. Bo was there for his wife, loving and supporting her through her illness. Annelle remembers one of the many special things he did for her during that uncertain time in her life. “He was so
good to me and would do anything to make me smile again. While I was at work he had a crew go to
our house and grub out and outline the spot for the garden. Then he arranged for me to meet with
Amy Taylor of Taylor Garden Shop to select some of my favorite perennials for the garden that we
later names the “Hope” garden.” In time, Annelle fully recovered, winning her battle with cancer by
God’s grace and with her loving husband’s full and unending support.
Then, in 2014, knowing about Annelle’s dream of owning a pizza restaurant, Bo decided it was
time to make that dream come true. They made plans to transform an empty building they owned
in downtown Florence into Annelle’s next dream. An architect was hired, plans were drawn up and
work began. With their children all grown, this was to be a fun project for the couple. Both were
looking forward to building the business together. It was a happy time in their lives… for a time.
“The same man who walked
life
all those years ago
into her
would
and had been her
not let her down.”
rock,
One afternoon, Annelle heard her husband pull into the driveway and watched as he walked to
their front door. She was struck by the way he seemed to drag his feet and realized that the fatigue
he had been experiencing was not normal. Annelle insisted that Bo see his doctor to find out what
was wrong, but they were not prepared for what was to come.
After a series of tests, Bo was diagnosed with a tumor in his colon. It was cancerous and had
spread to his liver. Annelle’s world suddenly began to shake and crumble, as her rock – the man
who had always been her strength – was facing uncertainty, even the possibility that he would not
be there to grow old with her. Yet, Annelle had to be strong for her husband, just as he had been for
her. It was now her time to be the caregiver, and she was happy to do so.
The Christmas of 2014 was a solemn time for the Osbornes. Knowing there was a very strong
chance that it would be the last Christmas they would all be together, Bo and Annelle made every effort to make it extra special. Still, the heartbreaking reality hung over their heads like a dark
cloud, reminding them just how precious every moment is… not just at Christmas but every day.
The New Year came, and Bo and Annelle welcomed in 2015 with both dread of the unknown and
faith that Bo would receive what he needed most: a miracle. They turned to the one certainty they
had always had in their lives, their faith in Jesus Christ. In Him, they found strength to face each
day and hope enough to believe that everything could be oka y. Bo was treated by Dr. Micheal Pavy
at McLeod Cancer Center and later went to Duke for his surgeries. Annelle made each trip with
her husband, happy to be by his side but admittedly afraid and heartbroken. Watching her strong
and capable husband, the man who had worked to provide for their family, so pale and weak was
at times more than she thought she could bear. “It was too much for either of us to handle. But,
I knew it wasn’t too much for God. He had gotten us through my own cancer and so many other
rough times. Though there was part of me that couldn’t help but wonder if Bo would make it, my
faith in God never wavered.”
Though fighting to remain strong for Annelle, his sons and all of those who loved him, Bo struggled as well with the thought that he might not make it to live out his old age with the love of his
life. Yet, he too kept the faith. “While I had to face the fact that I might not make it, I knew that, one
way or the other, I would be okay. We all would. I knew for a fact where I was going if I died, and
that was to be with Jesus in Heaven. So, I kept praying while knowing it was all in God’s hands.” As
Bo described his feelings at that time, both the pain of remembering and the thankfulness of being
alive to share his story resonated in his voice. At one point, we were all holding back tears, and I
became vividly aware that, as I have been blessed to experience many times in my editor’s seat at
She Magazine, I was witnessing the sharing of a true miracle.
John 11:4 says, “But when Jesus heard it, He said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for
the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” The treatment Bo endured in
his fight to beat the cancer that was threatening to take his life included chemotherapy, which left
his body weak and worn. The surgeries to remove the tumors at Duke further weakened him. Yet,
while down, Bo Osborne was not out. Never underestimate the power of God at work in a believer’s life through faith and prayer. As Christians, we know that sometimes God chooses to heal so
that we can remain on this earth; however, sometimes, God heals by taking us Home where we will
receive a new glorified body. For Bo, God’s answer was the one He spoke in the above scripture,
“This illness does not lead to death.” Furthermore, as Bo shared, his healing was also for the glory
of God. “I know that I was given a miracle. With all the cancer that was in my body, I should not
have made it. However, God healed me. He chose to let me live, and I will forever tell the world
that He healed me.” With that, the tears that filled that sweet couple’s eyes dried up; and, there it
was again, Annelle’s beautiful smile… the one that won Bo’s heart and put their story into motion.
CONTI NU ED ...
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