William Alan Owen

William Alan Owen

August 12, 1928 - March 24, 2011

William Alan Owen

August 12, 1928 - March 24, 2011

Obituary

Bill Owen was born, August 12, 1928, and lived in the Oak Park/Chicago area. He met and married Clara Mae and they had 7 children: Mary Jane, Claire, Bill, Elizabeth, Tom, John and Jim. In 1962 he started working for Jet Propulsion Laboratory and they moved to Pasadena. Clara Mae died in 1970. He then met and married the love of his life Martha Ruth. She had the great bonus of: Debby, Laury and Jacy. They enjoyed 21 amazing years together. He moved to Rossmoor Towers in Laguna Woods in 2002 until 2010. He was then in the Villa Valencia Skilled Nursing Facility until his death.

He was always extremely proud of all his children and loved to tell everyone he had 10 children. He is also survived by 21 grandchildren: Krista Marceron, Katie Perreira, Nathan Picco, Katherine Ogden, Lee Estes, Elizabeth Estes, Michael Daw, John Daw, Cara Daw, Mathew Lazelle, Jeffrey Lazelle, Alix Lazelle, Whitney Snodgrass, Scott Snodgrass, Lindsay Snodgrass, Jack Dill, Emily Dill, Cameron Clarke, Peter Owen, Nick Owen, Paul Owen and 6 great grandchildren: Garrick Ogden, Marcus Ogden, Kayla Marceron, Rachel Marceron, Otto Perreira and Abigail Perreira.

He was a true renaissance man. He had a brilliant mind; was literally a rocket scientist for NASA and Cal Tech. He had a double major in college at Loyola of English and Psychology yet also earned a minor in Mathematics. He went on to Illinois Institute of Technology and earned another BA in Chemical Engineering. He played multiple instruments including piano, saxophone and cello in Orchestras. He was a Boy Scout Leader and enjoyed the outdoors. He loved his Catholic faith and was a lector for many years. He took numerous photos and was always with his camera bag around his neck. He was a devoted, loving, supportive husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather & friend.

Funeral Mass at 9 AM Saturday April 2, 2011 at St. Nicholas Church. Interment at Mission San Fernando Cemetery. Reception at BJ’s Restaurant, 24032 El Toro Road, Laguna Hills, CA @ 3 PM.

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2 responses to William Alan Owen

  1. How lucky to be the granddaughter of such a beautiful and amazing man. I have so many wonderful memories of Grandpa and I when I was a little girl: my insisting he playing “On Top of Old Smokey” on the piano, swimming in the Pasadena pool, running away from the waves at the beach house, and all of his humorous/corny sayings. As I grew older I appreciated the thoughtful conversations we had and always enjoyed our opportunities to be together. He was always so supportive and encouraged me to follow my heart and my dreams. I will always choke up when I recall him meeting Kayla and Rachel and proudly saying ” I am your great-grandfather” ! He will be missed and fondly remembered!

  2. Tom and I are so blessed to have gotten to meet your Dad. He was so interesting to talk to. We are so sorry for your loss. I know you will miss him dearly. Be comforted my dear friend in knowing you will be together again!! Love You, Your Friends, Tom and Madaleine Dowd

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