Dr. Owen Earl Carper

Dr. Owen Earl Carper 87, died at his home in North Newton, Kansas on November 13, 2025. He was born on December 30, 1937, to Edward Paul and Esther (Noble) Carper on the family farm north of Lebanon, Kansas, near the geographical center of the lower 48 states. 

The youngest in a family of eight children, Owen was doted on by his parents and siblings, who nicknamed him “Pumpkin.” Saved as a child, he shared his faith with his older brother Delbert, back from World War II, asking him, “Are you coming to church with us, Del?” A farm boy from the Kansas heartland, Owen rode a horse to school and played eight-man football for the Lebanon High School Bronchos. Raised in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, he attended the denomination’s Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa, with the goal of becoming a high school science teacher and coach. Owen changed his mind when his roommate told him he was smart enough to become a doctor. Medical school took him back to the Sunflower State, where he attended the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. 

He also attended the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church, where he met a young nurse named Shirley Scherer. They had their first cup of coffee, followed by a date to the Starlight Theatre in Swope Park, where he grabbed her hand during a rainstorm. She said it felt like coming home. Owen and Shirley were wed on June 12, 1962, beginning a 59-year marriage. The following year, son Nicholas arrived. After medical school, Owen worked for the Indian Health Service in New Mexico and Arizona, where his patients included the famous Navajo code talkers. The young couple experienced tragedy with the deaths in infancy of their second and third children, Annie and Matthew. Owen and Shirley took great joy in raising Nicholas, John, Amanda, and Susan. 

The family moved to Newton, Kansas, in 1969, where he joined his brother Ivan at Axtell Christian Hospital and Clinic. He was a dedicated doctor who delivered babies, took calls at the family dinner table, and talked to patients about their lives. Medicine was a vocation, not just a job. Later in his career, he worked as a physician at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility. He and Shirley were members of First Presbyterian Church and Koerner Heights Mennonite Brethren Church in Newton, where Owen taught a Sunday School class for adults with special needs. In retirement, they enjoyed vacationing with their children and grandchildren at Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozarks and welcomed family members to countless Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving dinners. On many of these holidays, Owen would bake his famous braided brioche with lemon frosting, as well as homemade bagels, and could name the ingredients in any dish. Towards the end of his life, Owen struggled with dementia and declining health. His last years were spent at home, where he received the loving care of family members and a host of devoted CNAs and hospice staff. 

The last surviving child of Paul and Esther Carper, he was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Shirley, his children Annie and Matthew, his son-in-law Paul (Amanda) Friesen, and his siblings Gerald, Edna, Don, Delbert, Mary, Ivan, and Verda. 

He is survived by his children Nicholas (Lisa) Carper, John Carper, Amanda Friesen, and Susan (John) Schmalzbauer and their grandchildren Lincoln (Abby) Carper, John Henry Schmalzbauer, Drew (Megan) Friesen, Carolyn Carper, Danny (fiancée Giselle Hernandez) Friesen, Christina Carper, Brandon (Brittany) Friesen, Max Schmalzbauer, Katy Friesen, and Martin Schmalzbauer.

Interment and a graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 21st, at Greenwood Cemetery in Newton, followed by a celebration of life at Grace Community Church at 11 a.m.