Lee Owens
IRVINE, Calif. — Lee Owens of Irvine, Calif., died Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at Regents Point retirement community. She was 88.
She was born Feb. 2, 1923, in Minneapolis.
Mrs. Owens attended Stephens College in Columbia and studied science, literature and art. She met Harold Owens, an MU student, during their college years.
Mrs. Owens went on to study home economics and business, and graduated from the University of Minnesota. She and Harold Owens were married shortly after World War II and moved to Missouri.
She also attended what is now the MU School of Information Science and Learning Technologies. Following this, she worked as the children’s literature librarian and reference librarian at Stephens College. When she moved to Washington, D.C., she was the librarian for the American Home Economics Association.
Mrs. Owens pursued a lifelong interest in photography and had pictures published in places ranging from the college yearbook to a three-page series in The Washington Post. She belonged to the American Society of Picture Professionals. She was known for capturing the true essence and personality of her photographic subjects.
The Owens' travels included a three-year stay in South Africa. Mrs. Owens described her work there as "seeing Africa through the lens of a camera."
Mrs. Owens is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Benjamin; two daughters, Christine McLaren and Julianne Owens; a grandson, Graham McLaren; and two great-grandchildren, Yarrow and Coyote Herrera McLaren.
Her husband, Harold Owens, died earlier.
Services will be held at noon April 25 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
Memorial contributions can be made to the American Society of Hematology research program, 2021 L St. N.W., Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036.
