Dr Edwin Alvar Osberg, 1927–2015

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 57, No. 3, April 2015, Page 116 Obituaries
By: Lesley Bentein, Elaine Oxenbury,

portrait of the late Dr. Osberg

Dr Edwin Alvar Osberg passed away on Wednesday, 11 February 2015 at his home in South Granville Park Lodge, one month shy of his 88th birthday. He was predeceased in 2009 by his wife of 58 years, Marjorie Gladys Osberg, and by his only brother, Roy, in 2010. He is survived by three children, Lesley (Jim) Bentein, Ted (Brenda) Osberg, and Elaine (Bruce) Oxenbury; five grandchildren, Shana (Hakan) Drinnan, Rachel (David) Metcalfe, and Krystl, Jeff, and Corey Oxenbury; three great-grandchildren, Jayden, England, and Torran Metcalfe; his devoted sisters-in-law, Joyce Bradshaw and Jean Osberg; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. 

Ed was born on 16 March 1927 and raised in Fort Frances, Ontario. He received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba in 1952, and his certification as a diagnostic radiologist in 1958. Dr Osberg worked in Winnipeg with Drs McPherson and Child, and associates for 9 years, supplying radiologic services to Winnipeg General Hospital, the Winnipeg Clinic, and the Manitoba Clinic, and concurrently worked in the University of Manitoba’s Anatomy Department as a demonstrator and lecturer. In 1966 Dr Osberg and his family moved to Vancouver where he joined Brooke Radiology Associates, which supplied radiologic services to Burnaby General, Richmond General, and Delta General Hospitals, as well as maintaining five offices throughout the province in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and Tsawwassen. Dr Osberg was with them until he retired at age 62. 

Ed earned his ham radio licence in Winnipeg, and proudly displayed his first call sign of VE4XE, which was changed to VE7AXJ when he moved to Vancouver. Ed loved hunting, boating, and fishing. He and Marge logged over 400 sea days cruising the world on various cruise lines. He was an avid bridge player, curler, lawn bowler, ham radio operator, and dedicated family man. He always had a joke to tell and a tall tale to share.

Special thanks to the staff of South Granville Park Lodge for their caring attention and service. At our parents’ request, we will co-mingle their ashes and scatter them in the ocean in tribute to their love of the sea, each other, and their family. The family requests that no flowers be sent. Donations may be made in Ed’s memory to the charity of one’s choice, or just raise a glass in his memory. He would like that.
—Lesley Bentein
Mazatlan, Mexico
—Elaine Oxenbury
Denver, Colorado

Lesley Bentein,, Elaine Oxenbury,. Dr Edwin Alvar Osberg, 1927–2015. BCMJ, Vol. 57, No. 3, April, 2015, Page(s) 116 - Obituaries.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply