Verna Owen

Our beloved mother, Verna Jean Owen, was born to Agnes Marie and Kenneth Meadows on May26, 1934 in Medford, Oregon. She grew up with her older sister, Barbara, helping to plant flowers (mostly pansies) at the family business, Crater Green House. Verna learned a strong work ethic there, which served her well throughout her long career at the phone company.

Verna was a simple woman with a passion for her family. Her children Rise and Mark were privileged to have such a loving, patient, and kind mother who taught by example. She was known in the neighborhood as Mom. She was dearly loved. Verna enjoyed decorating for every holiday, baking cookies and Chex Mix for her grandchildren, and painting t-shirts and decorative wooden pieces. She studied our family genealogy for years and filled many notebooks with her research. When she married Robert Owen in 1968, Verna became a stepmother to Bobby, Jan, Vicki, and Ronnie. Vicki said that Verna was the best stepmother, ever, so she called her Mom.

Verna always had a quiet, calm demeanor. She kept her opinions to herself and never judged others. But, underneath that quiet exterior was the heart of a lioness. She always protected her loved ones. She made sure that everyone felt loved, seen, and heard. And, she had a wonderful sense of humor. What made her jokes even better was her ability to wait for the perfect time. She was very patient.

For several years, at Christmas, Robert (Bob to us) told a story about how destitute his family was. He recounted that they were so poor that his mother took the bones from the Thanksgiving turkey and put them into a giftwrapped box for Bob's Christmas present, a model turkey. As the years went by, the story became a family legend, until one year, Verna cooked a beautiful big turkey at Thanksgiving. She quietly cleaned up after our family feast. Verna boiled the bones, dried them, and then, secretly, put them into a box until the next Christmas.

A year later, Verna carefully wrapped the turkey bones in a beautifully decorated box. She added a tube of model glue and instructions that said:

"Directions for Turkey Model #029648322 By Verna

Step #1 Head bone connect to neck bones.

Step #2 Connect neck bone to breast bone.

Step #3 ----- Good luck. You're on your own."

That Christmas, Bob not only built his model turkey, but he created a beautiful oak base for his precious gift. Verna added tiny lights, and every year since then, the Turkey Model holds a place of pride in our Christmas Celebrations.

We are so very grateful for the 90 years she was here with us. Our family is heartbroken that Verna has passed, but she is now with the love of her life. She was a daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, and a friend.

Thank you for being a friend.