Marion "Janet" Owen

She was a devoted wife, loving mother, grandmother, sister and loyal and caring friend. She is survived by her daughters and their families: Cindy and Tim Elbrecht, Sheree and Roger Bailey and her grandchildren, Kyle and Kristin Bailey and Tyler and Carly Elbrecht. She is also survived by her sister Carolyn Shinn and husband Leonard.

Janet was born in Taylor, Texas on June 25, 1935. She graduated from Taylor High School in 1953 where she formed lifelong friendships. After graduation she moved to Austin and attended Nixon Clay Business School. She loved living in the “big” city and shared a house at 13th and Guadalupe with six girlfriends. They enjoyed strolling down Congress Avenue and shopping at Yaring’s, boating on Lake Austin and dancing. Janet got a job at the Highway Department in 1954 and enjoyed a very successful career as an Administrative Assistant.

Janet met the love of her life, Fred Owen, on a blind date and they were married in 1956. Janet had a strong faith and joined Fred as a member at First English Lutheran Church where they remained members for more than 60 years. They did everything together, except for shopping! They loved entertaining family and friends at their home on Lake Travis. They also enjoyed spending weekend nights at Saengerrunde Hall, dancing until the wee hours. After retirement they traveled throughout the United States and Europe and enjoyed sharing stories and photos of their adventures. They even took up snow skiing in their 40s and took trips every year with friends from the Highway Department. Fred passed away in December 2016, but happily they were able to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends.

Janet, fondly known as Grammy, loved her children and grandchildren and never missed attending their sporting events, dance recitals and school performances. With patience and love, she cared for them and provided many fun experiences! Everyone got a beautifully decorated cake on their birthday. She and Fred hosted field trips with the grandkids like picnics on the Capitol grounds and boating on Lake Travis.

Janet had a strong tie to her Swedish heritage that was instilled in her at an early age growing up in Taylor. She and her sister Carolyn are members of New Sweden Interest Group and sang in the choir at the annual Mid-Summer gathering in Elgin. They traveled to Sweden and were very excited to be able to locate relatives. Janet had many hobbies, but gardening and tending to her many flowers was her true joy.

Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be conducted at First English Lutheran Church on Tuesday, July 10 at 10:00 a.m. Please help us honor Janet by wearing festive and colorful clothes. Everyone is welcome to join in a celebration with light refreshments after the service. A private graveside service will be held at Cook Walden Capital Parks Funeral Home on Monday, July 2.

The family would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to the staff at Brookdale Spicewood Assisted Living facility for all the care and assistance provided. Special thanks to Erica, Megan, Carla, Shelley, Laurie, Debbie, Chanel, Curtis and Carlos. And to Sharon and the staff with Brookdale Hospice.

Memorials may be directed to First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis Avenue, Austin, TX 78705.

Please visit Janet’s memorial site at www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com where you can share memories and leave condolences for the family.