Lancelot William "Lance" Owens

Lancelot "Lance" William Owens

Knoxville, TN

Saxophonist Lancelot "Lance" William Owens, 95, died Feb. 14, 2019 in Knoxville. He leaves his former wife, Fannie Lou Owens; first cousin, Madye Sales (Rev. Louie) Price; care manager Jerri Shelley, and numerous friends and admirers.



Born June 23, 1923, in Johnson City, Tennessee, he was brought up by adoptive parents who started him with violin lessons at six but in 1931, he heard big band music on the radio for the first time. He played his first instrument, a sousaphone, in his high school marching band. By his mid-teens he was playing the clarinet and then the saxophone.



After attending Tennessee State University, where he studied physics and music, Owens served in the Pacific theatre for two years in World War II, where he strung wire as an electrician and operated diesel power plants. In New Guinea he backed up Bob Hope for a show, "the most thrilling thing of my whole career."



On returning to the US, Owens came to Knoxville from Johnson City with the Illusionaires and played in nightspots of the time such as the Worker's Club and the Blue Note with players such as Bill Scarlett and Edwin "Rocky" Wynder from the '40s into the 2000s. His day jobs included running a radio repair shop in Knoxville and working at ORNL and Knoxville College as an electrician.

In 2012, jazz pianist Donald Brown produced a 13-track album featuring Owens, followed by a memorable "Alive After Five" appearance. In his last years, he lived at Northgate Towers, spent most Thursdays socializing at the Love Kitchen, and many Saturdays playing jazz with friends.



Asked about his philosophy of life in an WUOT radio show that followed the release of his 2013 album, Owens told host Todd Steed, "It's real simple: Live and let live." Of music, he said, "Music is the pouring out of a performer's soul."

Celebration of Life, 2:30 p.m., Saturday, February 22, 2019 at the Love Kitchen, 2418 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, 37914.

Arrangements by JARNIGAN & SON MORTUARY

www.jarnigansmortuary.com