Legacy Stories | Lester “Boddie” & Dorry Osteen
A Life of Service. A Lifetime Together. A Legacy Remembered
LEGACY STORY
Lester “Boddie” & Dorry Osteen
A Life of Service. A Lifetime Together. A Legacy Remembered.
For years, people traveling along Highway 41 through Lutz may have seen an older gentleman standing alongside the road on Veterans Day, proudly waving an American flag.
His name was Lester “Boddie” Osteen.
For Boddie, it wasn't simply a patriotic gesture. He said he stood there to remind people of the veterans who didn't make it home.
That simple tradition says a great deal about the man he was.
Boddie grew up in Lutz, attending the Little Red School House before attending Hillsborough High School. In January 1953, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served honorably for three years as an Armament Mechanic, including 24 months in Korea.
When his service was complete, Boddie came home to Lutz—and to his childhood sweetheart, Dorry.
The two married, built their home on 4th Street North, just across Highway 41 from what is now Historic Lutz Cemetery, and raised five children there. It remained their home for the rest of their lives.
Their roots in Lutz ran deep.
Boddie was active in Lutz Little League, coaching generations of young ballplayers. He was also a member of Marine Corps League Post #1440. Boddie and Dorry were both active members of the Lutz Church of Christ and spent their lives as part of the community they called home.
Boddie went to his heavenly home in 2020.
Five years later, on Veterans Day 2025, Boddie and Dorry were laid to rest together at Historic Lutz Cemetery—the cemetery they had lived across the road from for so many years.
In recognition of Boddie's service in the United States Marine Corps, Historic Lutz Cemetery gifted their gravesite to the family. Through assistance coordinated by Mike Lowell, American Legion Post 108's Veteran Service Officer, the family was also able to obtain a government-furnished veterans monument honoring Boddie's military service.
There is something especially meaningful about where their story ultimately came to rest.
The young man who left Lutz to serve his country came home, married his childhood sweetheart, raised a family, coached children, served his church and community, and spent Veterans Day reminding passing motorists to remember those who never came home.
Today, Boddie and Dorry rest together in the community where they built their life.
And every Veterans Day, when the flags begin to wave along Highway 41, there is one more story worth remembering.
Lester “Boddie” Osteen stood there so we wouldn't forget.
Neither should we.
A life of service. A lifetime of love. A story remembered. A legacy that lives on.
Historic Lutz Cemetery — Where Legacies Live.
