Georgia "Jo" Owen

Georgia "Jo" Owen, 85, of Durkee, passed away on February 27, 2023 at her home.  A memorial service will be held at the Blue Mountain Baptist Church on Monday, March 6, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. A reception (coffee and cookies) will be held immediately following the service.

Georgia Ann Martin was born on January 22, 1938 in Emmett, Idaho She was raised on a farm in Emmett, Idaho and was the youngest child of George and Hazel Martin. When she was 9 years old, she miraculously survived having both Polio and Rheumatic Fever at the same time that caused a permanent curvature in her spine. 

Jo, the nickname her brother Guy gave her, met Bruce Owen at Emmett High School in 1954 when she saved him a seat in speech class. After Jo graduated from high school in 1956, she went to beauty school and worked as a beautician until they were married Christmas Day, 1957 when Bruce was on leave from the Air Force. They went on to have three children, Nathan, Eric, and Kelly. Because of their big hearts, in 1980, they adopted two orphans from South America: Marta and Danny. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last year and were a wonderful example of a loving relationship to all who knew them.  

Bruce became a commercial pilot in 1962 and they lived in multiple states, accumulating great friends everywhere they lived. In 1993, Bruce retired and they settled on their ranch in Durkee, Oregon where Jo enjoyed quilting groups, gardening, canning, cooking, and serving in her church. She was a loyal, loving, and dependable wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. 

Jo loved teaching whether it was homeschooling her grandchildren, teaching quilting or teaching children at church. She had a teacher's heart. She loved gardening and tending to her flowers in the summertime and canning and freezing her produce in the fall. She enjoyed writing letters to the many needy children that they supported monthly. Jo was known for her kind, caring, loving, and generous personality.

She is survived by her loving husband, Bruce, and her children Nathan, Eric (daughter in law Michelle), Kelly, Marta, and Danny, and her 12 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. She was reunited with her parents and all of her siblings at her time of death, and the most important reunion of all - her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to a charity close to Jo's heart serving widows and orphans in Cambodia: The Lydia Project through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home and Cremation Services, PO Box 543, Halfway, Oregon 97834. Online condolences can be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com