Born Sept. 9, 1923, in Cedar Rapids, George Owen passed away after a long journey with dementia Monday, June 14, 2021, in Bloomington, Minn. After graduation from Franklin High School and two years at Coe College, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, 17th Airborne. He was a paratrooper from 1943 to 1945 and earned three Bronze Stars during Allied campaigns in Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. He returned to Cedar Rapids after the war ended and earned a B.A. in economics from Coe College. He worked for the Maytag Company in Newton and Minneapolis for 40 years.
He was a longtime member of the Lafayette Club in Minnetonka Beach, Minn., where he won many first place golf trophies. He took great pride in pointing out the greens where he shot his three holes-in-one. He served as club president from 1988 to 1990. He was a seasonal member of the Carmel Ranch Valley Golf Course in California where he and his wife Laura enjoyed many winters.
George grew vegetables and flowers in his backyard garden on Lake Minnetonka. The maples, oaks and ginkos he planted continue to thrive at every home and office where he lived or worked.
He was a jazz and swing fan who spoke of his heroes Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Frank Sinatra up until his final days. He often talked about playing guitar in a jazz band during his college years. For six years, residents at Wealshire of Bloomington requested and applauded to George’s lively renditions of the Maytag sales song at social gatherings.
He was a lover of film and reader of books, particularly documentaries or histories of World Wars I and II. He made daily visits to the public library to read The Wall Street Journal and keep up on current events. He read the New Yorker from cover–to-cover for more than 50 years.
He was preceded in death by parents, Carlton and Frances Owen; wife, Laura Owen; sister, Barbara Owen Frank; and grandson, Renzo Malaga. George is survived by children, Katharine Malaga (Ross), Deborah Owen (Kate), Robert Owen (Erin), Michael Owen (Therese) and Laura Owen (Gary); grandchildren, Deborah Malaga (Gil), Laurissa Gronwall, Kristen Leonard (Kevin), Karl Gronwall (Jamie) Willis Gronwall Maia Huff-Owen (Mary Beth), Canae Weiss, Bridget Bergmann (Thomas) and Ashley Knight (Kevin); great-grandchildren, Emilio and Nadia Corrales, Quinn Dvorak, Kobe, Sam and Ellie Leonard, Olivia and Renzo Alarcon, Astro Danger and Zero Gravity Owall and Brooks Wiese.
He was grateful to Hennepin Health Care in Minneapolis, Wealshire of Bloomington, Consultative Health and Park Nicollet Hospice for the care that he received over the past years.
A memorial service will begin 10 a.m. Thursday, July 1 at St. Martin’s By-The-Lake in Minnetonka Beach, to be followed by a reception at the Lafayette Club at 2800 Northview Rd., Minnetonka Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to Coe College (coe.edu), The Hennepin County Libraries (supporthclib.org), the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (arboretum@umn.edu) or the organization of your choice.