Owen, William
1921 - 2019
William (Bill) Van Brocklin Owen, Jr. of Worthington, passed Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at the age of 98. Bill was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania on February 16, 1921 to the late William Van Brocklin Owen, Sr. and Louise Katherine Werle Owen. The family moved to Columbus not long after Bill's birth, and he was raised in Clintonville, graduating from North High School in 1939 and then attending Ohio State University. Immediately following Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and flew two tours of duty out of England during World War II. Following the war, Bill returned to Columbus, married Jacqueline (Jackie) Bowsman and began a family in Clintonville. He completed his degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State, but was recalled to active service at the outset of the Korean War. He became a career Air Force officer, including pilot duty during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, eventually retiring as a colonel in 1972. Though his career ended, his lifelong love of flight did not, and he continued piloting his own plane well into his 80s. Bill, Jackie and their children lived all across the country during his years of service, but upon retirement, he returned to Columbus, the place he always considered home. Back home, his life revolved around his family in Upper Arlington and Worthington. Bill sadly lost Jackie in 1984 following a battle with ovarian cancer. In 1987 Bill married his second wife Eileen Rager Owen, and they built their life together in Indianapolis, Indiana. Though living in Indianapolis, Bill spent as much time in Columbus as possible to be close with his family and look after apartment buildings he continued to own and maintain in Worthington. Though it looked like work to everyone else, he considered maintaining the apartments his hobby. He returned full time to Worthington in 2018 and spent the last year of his life in those apartments, surrounded by family and friends. Bill was a devoted son, husband, father, grandfather and friend- and he never met a dog he could deny table scraps. He will be deeply missed. Bill is survived by Eileen and her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is also survived by his daughters, Ann North and Susan Owen, and his grandchildren Mark North, David North and Jacqueline Outka, as well as many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. In addition to Jackie, Bill was predeceased by his son, David Stuart Owen, and by Eileen's son, Gregory Rager. Bill was also predeceased by his siblings and their spouses: Betty Louise Owen, Dick and Sara Owen, Jim and Phyllis Owen, and Jane and Dan Lane. A graveside service will be held at Walnut Grove Cemetery, Worthington, Ohio on Tuesday July 23, 2019 at 10 am. A memorial service will follow at First Congregational Church, 444 E. Broad Street in downtown Columbus, at 11:30 am on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. The family would like to thank all the staff at Kobacker House and Ohio Health for their loving care of Bill and our family. The family may be contacted through Rutherford and Corbin Funeral Home. There is a website at Rutherford where you may offer condolences. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Kobacker House, the Jackie Owen Memorial Music Fund at First Congregational Church or a charity of your choice. www.rutherfordfuneralhome.com

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Published by The Columbus Dispatch from Jul. 18 to Jul. 21, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
for William Owen

Sponsored by The Columbus Dispatch.

6 Entries

August 17, 2019

It was my good fortune to have Bill and Eileen as my neighbors in Indy for 32 years. I was relocated to Indy in fall '86 and in June '87 on a Sunday afternoon, I was in the backyard when Eileen called me over to the fence and introduced Bill -- then told me they were planning to get married. They honeymooned at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, where the lilacs were over 20' tall and blooming in early July.
Over the next few years, I gradually discovered what an extraordinary human being I had for a neighbor. We would get together once a week or so and discuss everything under the sun, some of it current and some of it historical. When Bill found out I had been a math major at KU, we would sometimes discuss some of the calculus problems he remembered from his engineering studies at Ohio State, and of course we kept track of how the two schools were doing in sports. He was a very loyal alumnus and always watched the Buckeyes when they were on TV.
Eventually Bill told me about the book Bombs Away! which his bombing crew from WWII had written (with some help from Bill) back in the 70's and gave me an autographed copy. It is a remarkable book which I quickly came to value and have let some of the others in my family read. Besides all of the details about how his crew came together and their experiences in England and the bombing missions, one thing I will always remember is the powdered eggs. Usually they had scrambled eggs for breakfast made from these powdered eggs, but on mornings when they left for bombing missions over Germany, they got 2 real eggs for breakfast. In the late 40's, my parents had used these powdered eggs for a while but I had completely forgotten about them and had no idea they were army surplus.
As Bill got older, I was amazed how well his body and his mind held up. Even going into his early 90's, he would get up on those long ladders to clean out the gutters at the top of the 2nd floor. This made me a little uneasy and he eventually let someone else do it, but he continued to drive to Columbus and back.
I could write a book about all those years Bill was my neighbor, but the bottom line is that he was an exceptional human being by any measure. After I moved back to Kansas last fall, we touched bases over the phone occasionally, so I knew he had physical problems, but his spirit was always there.
Bill had told me several times about Jackie's music fund at the church -- he obviously considered it very important so I am making a donation as a memorial.
I will always be grateful for having known Bill. Paul Dean Ross

Stephen Manos

July 22, 2019

Ann and family, my sympathies to you on the loss of your father and grandfather. I loved the stories of his life. All my best Stephen Manos

Stephanie (Carter) Henkle

July 20, 2019

So many great memories of both Bill and Jackie as I read his obituary. Jackie was a dear friend in the First Congregational Choir, and Bill was my landlord in Worthington for 11 years. During that time he was a treasured friend to both my young son and me - never to be forgotten.
My love goes out to his wonderful family.

Mary Price

July 19, 2019

I met "Mr. Owen" in the summer of 1986 and have been happy to call him friend since that time. Later he became friend to my husband and sons as well. Always pleasant, with interesting things to talk about, whether it was about his own war time aviation experiences or something he was reading about or doing, and he showed interest in what we were doing as well. We will greatly miss him. It has been fun and a great privilege to know Mr. Owen!

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Peggy Shover

July 19, 2019

I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Owen for about 20 years. He was a very humble man! He had experienced so many things in his life during war and peace time. It was always interesting to hear his stories. I also remember what loving care he took of his son Dave as he struggled through his illness. He will be missed by many people!

Karen Butts

July 18, 2019

I came to know Bill later in his life and witnessed what a devoted father he was to his son. Bill stood by David faithfully and he fearlessly provided David great comfort throughout his illness. Bill also watched over his friends, among them my mother, Nancy Butts. My life has been touched by his generous caring and spirit. I am so sorry for your loss and want you to know he will remain in my heart & memory.

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