Joan was born in a dust storm in Liberal, Kansas on May 23, 1932, the oldest daughter of Ray and Bertha (Kimes) Pennington. She moved a lot as a child living in Liberal, Sublette, and Wichita, Kansas; Denver, Colorado; and Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Ft. Hayes Kansas State College from 1950-1954 where she was crowned the homecoming queen in the fall of 1953 and then graduated in May 1954 with an elementary teaching degree. Joan and Charles Everett Owens were married on May 31, 1954, and were married for 47 years until Charles’ death in April 2001. Joan taught school in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1954-1955 while her husband was stationed at Fort Benning, GA. She then joined him there for a year. They then moved to Oklahoma where they lived for 10 years and had 3 children – Karen, Douglas, and David. In 1967, the family moved to Mission, South Dakota on the Rosebud Indian Reservation where Joan taught 7th grade reading for 16 years at Todd Co. Junior High School and Charles worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They retired in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1990 where they had started their married life together many years before. In June 2014 she moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to be closer to family and was a resident at Stoney Brook Assisted Living Center. Joan will be greatly missed. She has loved to play the piano since the age of 6 and could make the piano sing with all her extra notes. In fact, she played the piano during many church services in Mission and in Hutchinson. Her favorite songs were “There’s Something About that Name” and “Trust and Obey” as well as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” at Christmas time. Residents at Stoney Brook enjoyed her impromptu sit downs at the piano to listen to her beloved hymns. She was also known by all her family and friends as having an extensive Shirley Temple collection of dolls and memorabilia which she enjoyed showing. She was blessed with a wonderful life! Grateful for having shared her life are her children Karen (John) Boyd of Sioux Falls, SD; Douglas (Kathy Prue) Owens of Colorado Springs, CO; and David Owens of Wichita, KS; a sister Janice Pennington of Great Falls, MT; a sister-in-law Charmaine Foraker of Hutchinson, KS; 6 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; and furry friends – Sally, Sampson, and Shadow. In addition to her husband Charles she was preceded in death by her parents. Graveside service will be Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, 10:00am at Fairlawn Burial Park with reception following for family and friends at Old Mission – Heritage Funeral Home, 528 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS. Old Mission – Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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Joan Owens
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