Mary Louise Stephenson Owens

“Mary Lou” as she preferred to be called, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and life of the party. She was born January 10, 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia to Lillian Coyne and Louis Moore Stephenson (deceased) and was the middle of three children, Aurelia Ann Stephenson (deceased) and Louis Moore Stephenson, Jr. She attended high school at Stuart Hall in Staunton, Virginia for two years then attended and graduated from The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Mary Lou attended and graduated from Finch College in New York city with a major in foreign languages (French and Italian) and a minor in accounting. Mary Lou enjoyed playing tennis, golf, and was an award winning lap and synchronized swimmer. She also had the good fortune of attending the opening of Disneyland in California in 1955.

Mary Lou married Richard Hyatt Noonan Owens (Dick) in 1959 and moved to California where they had 5 children, Christopher, Timothy, John, Kathleen (Peter), and Richard. Mary Lou is also survived by her brother Louis Moore Stephenson, Jr. (Stevie) of Covington, Louisiana and her two grandchildren, Petra Victoria (11) and Owen Amos (9) who lovingly called her “Grammie Lou”. She was vigilant in traveling to Boston to celebrate each of their birthdays in April and October, happily noting that they were both born after the tax return deadlines. A consummate professional and often called work-a-holic, Mary Lou thoroughly enjoyed her career as an Accountant and Enrolled Agent (EA) for over 50 years. She remains the longest working tenant in her building at 301 East Colorado in Pasadena.

Mary Lou brought vibrancy to life wherever she went and with whomever she encountered. A true southern belle her entire life, Mary Lou was always one to bring baked goods such as her “welcome cake”, a honey baked ham or send a card to show her appreciation and love. In addition to the tradition of attending the annual Christmas Fashion luncheon at the Jonathan Club with a dozen long time friends, Mary Lou enjoyed trips to the casinos (video poker), loved to sunbathe, Starbucks vanilla lattes, Mexican food, Bill O’Reilly and Fox News and truly believed everything was better with butter.

Her joy for life was contagious and selfless and gave her the amazing strength to fight her esophageal cancer for 3 ½ years, living 2 years longer than the doctors gave her. Her motto was “one day at a time” and she truly embraced each day. She passed with courage, determination and most importantly, with her family by her side.

Grammie Lou, we love you to the moon and back.

The funeral mass was celebrated Thursday, November 12, 10:00 A.M., at Holy Angels Catholic Church in Arcadia.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The City of Hope or the charity of your choice.