The Owens Connection

The photo album contained some nice pictures of person called Robert Owens and Bob Owens.  The pictures below state they were of Robert Owen US Navy.  And there were a couple of pictures of him in a kilt, presumably while in Scotland.  I wanted to identify who this Bob or Robert Owens was, but for some reason, it took me a while to make the connection of this Bob Owens to another Owens in the album, Leta R Owens.  Guess all of the pictures, names, and lots of facts can sometimes hide the relationships that become obvious.  I have been trying to work on one big blog post about the Owens connection, but with so many parts and pieces, and for the sake of time, I will post parts as I go.

So Bob Owens turns out to be John Robert Owens, born in Auburn, Cayuga, New York 7 Dec 1923. He was the son of Leta Remarque and Francis Claire Owens.  Finding his mother's maiden name was part of what challenged me, as the records I had always listed her simply as Leta R Owens.  Francis Claire Owens died in 1939, when Bob Owens was about 16.  Leta later married Glenn Tilden, bringing us back to the Tilden family and the connection to Mary Merritt.  So far as I know, Leta was Glenn's first and only wife.

John Robert Owens turned 18 on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.  He joined the Navy shortly thereafter.  He died in the Atlanta, Georgia area, 5 Aug 2001.  There is a transcription of his obituary that can be found at this link.  He had a very active and interesting life.  I always wondered if Ma ever had contact with him after she moved away to Florida.

John Robert Owens