Osby Lee and Lillian K. Garrison Hire

Osby Lee Hire was born on May 16, 1914 in Macon County, Tennessee to John and Tellie Jent Hire. Osby was a World War II Army veteran, a farmer, and owner and operator of the Western Auto Store in Tompkinsville, Kentucky for 25 years. A member of the first graduating class of Petroleum High School (1936), he held various positions in his early life, including: construction worker; builder of concrete culverts on the Scottsville-Franklin road; door-to-door peddler; salesman by truck throughout Monroe County, Kentucky; and postmaster at Forkton, Kentucky. Throughout his adult life Osby was an avid sportsman, a member of the National Rifle Association, a fisherman, a hunter, and a member of Hickory Hill United Methodist Church in Allen County.

Upon Osby’s move to Allen County to live with his half-sister after the passing of his parents, he met his future wife, Lillian Garrison. Lillian was born and raised in Allen County, and her family history there can be traced back to the American Revolution. She was the fifth child of Emmet Washington and Ollie Irene Keen Garrison, both of Allen County, Kentucky. Lillian and Osby were married on September 13, 1933 and on August 30, 1941, their son, Dr. Delroy Hire, was born.

Lillian passed away on June 26, 1990 and Osby followed with his passing in November of 2000. To honor the memory of Osby Lee and Lillian K. Garrison Hire, their son, Dr. Delroy Hire and his wife, Patricia Hasselman Hire established this fund in 2009. The Osby Lee and Lillian K. Garrison Hire Scholarship Fund provides assistance and encouragement to students attending WKU who are graduates of Allen and Monroe counties in Kentucky as well as Macon County in Tennessee. Through this fund, the Hires’ legacies live on.