Charles D. OWENS

OWENS, Charles D. 5/14/1921 - 11/21/2016 Husband, father, solider, scientist and inventor, Charles Owens passed away quietly on Monday, November 21, 2016, after a brief illness. Charles met Dorothy, the love of his life, on a blind date while he was completing officer training at Yale University during WWII. For the next 68 years, they were inseparable until Dorothy's death in 2012. Charles is survived by sons, David and Steven (Sherilyn); grandchildren, Alexander (Lyndsey), Christina and great-granddaughter, Zoe Nicole. Charles served with distinction in both World War II, where he was decorated B-29 Flight Engineer Instructor at Davis-Monthan and during the Korean War, where he was a Flight Engineer on the mammoth B-36 bomber. He returned home to Wisconsin to finish his degrees in Agricultural Engineering and joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. In 1956, Charles accepted an offer to transfer to Tucson, where he joined the group of scientists that formed the Carl Hayden Bee Research Laboratory. During his time with the Agricultural Research Service, Charles established himself as an internationally recognized authority as an engineer for beekeeping equipment. He has multiple patents on equipment he invented, (Patent No. 3,068,496, an automatic honeycomb uncapping machine is shown in the photo above), wrote over 40 scientific publications and made numerous presentations at professional conferences. Articles and stories about Charles' work and inventions were featured in many papers and magazines, including the Arizona Daily Star, the Los Angeles Times and The New Yorker magazine. Charles retired in 1980 and with his wife Dorothy, discovered a new passion; motorhomes. For the next 20 plus years, they logged over a half million miles in five motorhomes vising all 48 states and Canada. Charles was also a fine wood worker, hand crafting numerous toys, cradles, chairs and such for his grandchildren and others. Charles and his family were long time members of Christ Church United Methodist, where he ushered for services and served on numerous committees. Charles Owens was truly the epitome of what Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation", serving his country during peace and war, raising a family, serving God and his fellow man. He will truly be missed. A Celebration of Charles' life will be held in the Chapel of Christ Church United Methodist, 655 N. Craycroft Rd. at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Charles' memory to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. Arrangements by EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY.