RICHARD "Rick" OWEN

OWEN RICHARD OWEN "Rick" (Age 77) Lt. Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) Of Cary, North Carolina, formerly of Wheeling, passed away on November 4, 2017 at home. He was retired and had formerly been a unit commander with the Air Force Intelligence Service in Washington, DC. Subsequently he was employed as a Senior Civilian GS-15 with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He was also a disabled Vietnam War Veteran. Rick was born September 23, 1940 in Wheeling, WV, and graduated from Warwood High School. He earned a BA degree from West Virginia University in 1963, and a MA Degree from Central Michigan University in 1976. Upon graduation from WVU Colonel Owen was commissioned as a 2d Lieutenant in the Air Force and had a distinguished military career. He attended the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Center at Denver, Colorado in 1963 and his initial assignment was in Tokyo, Japan. Subsequent assignments included tours at Langley, AFB, Virginia, Seoul, South Korea, Tan Son Nhut AB, Republic of Vietnam, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and the Pentagon. He was a graduate of the Air Force Squadron Officers School, the Air Command & Staff College, and the National Defense University. He was also a graduate of the Korean language course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, and he also studied at the Tokyo School for Japanese Language. He was a member of the Military Officers Association of America. Colonel Owen retired from the Air Force in 1986 and subsequently retired as a civilian Federal Employee with DIA in 2001. His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Korea Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with four campaign devices, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with device, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He is survived by Mia Owen, his wife of 52 years, his daughter Jennifer Owen, his granddaughter Koi Walsh, all of Cary, North Carolina. He is also survived by his sister Nancy (Raper) Robinson, his niece, Kimberly Jo (Robinson) Stanford (Terry), and great-nephews, Richard Peyton Stanford, and Drew Stanford, all of Bartlett, Tennessee. Colonel Owen was preceded in death by his parents, Richard P. Raper and Alice LeMoyne (Ellis) Raper of Bartlett, Tennessee, formerly of Wheeling. Services to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Autism Society of NC: https://www.autismsociety-nc.org/donate-online or the VA Hospital in Durham, NC: https://www.volunteer.va.gov/apps/VolunteerNow/Services to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Autism Society of NC: https://www.autismsociety-nc.org/donate-online or the VA Hospital in Durham, NC: https://www.volunteer.va.gov/apps/VolunteerNow/