Margaret Joan Owens

Jo was born on May 9, 1996 in Covington, Louisiana. Her parents, Paul and Betsy Owens, were delighted to fulfill their dream of parenting through adopting this beautiful child. They brought her home to Charleston, West Virginia, when she was just days old. When Jo was 5, the family moved to Orlando.

Jo made her brilliant mind known to her parents even as a young child. She spoke hundreds of words by 18 months, and memorized books she had read only once when she was 2. Her curious mind was a delight to her family and teachers. Early passions were ancient Egypt, cats, and volcanoes. On stage at her preschool graduation, classmates announced what they intended to be when they grew up. Amidst the future firefighters and nurses, Jo’s answer of “a volcanologist” brought laughter.

Her passion for learning and nature defined her life. Jo’s favorite season was summer, when she divided her time between camp at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, and her grandparents’ farm in the Appalachian foothills of North Georgia. She loved time at the farm with her younger brother and beloved cousins, hiking, camping, climbing trees, swimming in waterfalls and tubing in the Sautee Creek and Chattahoochee River.

Jo was active in drama and rock-climbing at Edgewater High School, from which she graduated in 2014. She matriculated to New College of Florida in Sarasota, where she studied neuroscience. As a student there, she was listed as a co-author on a paper concerning the effects of trauma on the brain. She graduated in 2018, and worked as a substance abuse counselor in Sarasota following graduation.

It was at New College where she met the love of her life, Emma Wollard. Jo found in Emma a fellow intellectual and philosopher; they shared deep passions for science, human rights and feminism. They made their home in Fort Lauderdale with 2 dogs, Caliber and Hex, and 4 cats—Nick, Cleo, Latte and Ari. A gifted poet and writer, Jo authored a feminist blog that had thousands of followers, scores of whom she counseled personally.

Jo loved her family dearly. She leaves behind her wife, Emma Wollard; grandparents Jack and Peggy Rogers; parents Betsy and Paul Owens; brother Jack Owens; precious aunts and uncles and cousins who were like siblings, especially her beloved Abigail; in-laws Brian and Karen Wollard.

Jo’s essence can perhaps best be defined by her caring for those marginalized in our world: endangered or unwanted animals; victims of sexual violence, political or societal oppression or legal injustice.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that Jo could be honored through contributions to two charities: Women’s March or the Broward County Humane Society. As an alternative, Jo would urge you to do something kind for a marginalized person or animal on her behalf.

A family service honoring Jo is planned this fall in North Georgia.