Clara Owen

Clara Lou Owen, 81, passed away peacefully on December 30, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of love, learning, and laughter.

Raised in Heavener, Oklahoma, Clara was born to Grady Queen and Jerry Queen, who instilled in her the values of kindness, curiosity, and dedication that would define her life. She married her high school sweetheart, John Owen III, beginning a lifelong partnership rooted in love. Clara and John spent the majority of their life together living in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Clara was truly born to be a teacher. A gifted and devoted first-grade educator, she spent the majority of her career at Robertson Elementary School in Tulsa, where she taught for more than 30 years. In her classroom, generations of children learned not only how to read and write, but how to feel seen, encouraged, and capable. She was surrounded by extraordinary colleagues who became lifelong friends, and her impact continues to be felt by students and families alike.

Clara and John welcomed one son, John, who now lives in New York. She was immensely proud of him and cherished every moment they shared.

Known for her sharp wit, warmth, love and fierce interest in politics, Clara is surely now enjoying long lunches filled with lively debate and laughter alongside her husband John, who passed in 2018, and many dearly departed teacher friends and family members as well as the likes of other strong women that she admired, such as Molly Ivins and Ann Richards, exactly where she belongs.

She is survived by her son John and his partner Ryan Donohue of New York, New York; sister-in-Law, Linda Ray and husband John of Broken Arrow; brother-in-Law, Russell Owen and wife Lynn of Ft. Smith, Arkansas; nephews, Wesley Ray, wife Toni and their children, Daniel Long and Lily Ray of Frisco, Texas, and Lance Owen and his partner Jamie Clements of Denver, Colorado; nieces, Andrea Ray Sixkiller, husband Jesse and children, Sarah and Emery Sixkiller, of Broken Arrow, Stephanie Ray Sealy, husband Lance and children Carson and Crosby Sealy of Prosper, Texas, and Katy Burford Buck, husband John and children, Lily and Molly Buck, of Rogers, Arkansas.

Clara Lou Owen will be remembered as a devoted teacher, a loving mother, a loyal friend, and a woman who believed fiercely in the power of education, compassion, and humor. Her life made the world brighter, one child and one conversation at a time.

Graveside services will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Heavener Memorial Park in Heavener, Oklahoma with Reverend Bill Hemm officiating.

Arrangements are being handled by Dowden-Roberts Funeral Home of Heavener, Oklahoma.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the University of Oklahoma Stephenson Cancer Center or to another cancer center of the donor's preference.