Gary Lee Owens was born in Ord, Nebraska on December 1, 1938 to Lloyd and Marie Owens. He moved to Lexington, Nebraska a few months later where he grew up with his brother, Will, and sisters, Alyce Jean and Louise.
Gary graduated from Lexington High School and joined the Air Force where he served at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Kessler AFB in Biloxi and Loring AFB in Caribou, Maine. After leaving the service, Gary attended Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana where he graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked on guidance systems on F4’s with General Electric, the Minute Man at Autonetics, a division of North American Rockwell, and finally the Space Shuttle, Small ICBM and PeaceKeeper (MX) system with Rockwell International at Vandenberg AFB.
For a brief time, Gary also owned and operated Owens Radio & T.V. in Morro Bay. Gary coached little league and youth football teams, was a 40+ year supporter of Camp Hapitok, was a member of Rotary Club of Morro Bay for nearly 50 years, founding member of the Black Brant Group, helped run a breeding program for Wood Ducks for the California Water Fowl Association, and was also a member of the Eagles.
Gary passed away on September 16, 2021 and is survived by his wife, Marlene, his sons David (Dawn) and Michael (Lori), his daughter Susan (David), four grandsons, Dak, Dexton, Devan and Kai; two granddaughters, Dari and Sage; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Estero Bay Kindness Coalition. A Celebration of his Life will be held at the Morro Bay Methodist Church on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 2pm with a reception to follow. All of his family and friends are welcome to attend.
