Richard Hyatt Noonan Owens

Richard Hyatt Noonan Owens 1935-2016

Richard Hyatt Noonan Owens of Arcadia, California passed away peacefully at his home on March 23, 2016. He was 80 years old. “Dick” as he was better known was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 29, 1935 to Gertrude Elizabeth Reinhart and John Vincent Noonan. He was the middle of three children, John Noonan (deceased) and Robert Noonan (deceased). After attending elementary school in Missouri, his family subsequently moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he graduated from Marist College which was a boys military prep school. He attended Emory University in Atlanta where he was active in the Chi Phi fraternity. Dick served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. He was a Tank Platoon Leader at Fort Stewart, Georgia and he also travelled extensively throughout Europe as Captain of the U.S. Army Marksman team.

Dick met his wife of 55 years, Mary Louise Stephenson (deceased) in Atlanta, Georgia and in 1959 they married and moved to California where they had five children, Christopher, Timothy, John, Kathleen (Peter) and Richard. Once settled in California, Dick worked for The Allstate Insurance Company, then Hycon Manufacturing Company/McDonnell Douglas where he managed the team that put the spy camera in the SR-71 Blackbird. At the age of 37 with three children and a fourth on the way, he went back to school. Dick graduated and received both his Bachelors and MBA from the University of Southern California in 1974, all the while maintaining a 4.0 average, being active in the Chi Phi Fraternity and welcoming their fifth child. He then began an illustrious 35 year career in commercial and industrial real estate with Coldwell Banker. He was also very involved with the Chi Phi Fraternity and Alumni at USC. Dick was an active member of the Jonathan Club where he and the family enjoyed many of their events at both the downtown and at the Santa Monica beach facility.

Dick was generous with his time. He was a natural born leader who enjoyed mentoring others and never shied away from the chance to guide, support or encourage someone along the way. He had an unprecedented work ethic and he truly believed managing your time wisely was the key to success. His favorite mantra to share was, "There are 24 hours in a day. How successful you are in life is what you do with that time."

He was active on the board for both Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and St. Francis High School. In addition to being resourceful, he was well regarded for being an honest and trustworthy businessman. Dick was a voracious reader who loved to engage others in somewhat lengthy conversations, as we all know Dick loved to talk. He loved food, wine, cigars and Fox News. He also enjoyed trips to Mexico, Palm Springs, and going to the Sacramento Dixie Land Jazz Festival.

Dick’s favorite day of the year without a doubt was St. Patricks Day. He took the day off every year up until his retirement, donning a Kelly green tie and bringing in Bushmills and pastries to the office along with shamrock stickers to make sure everyone had some green to wear that day. He was then off to celebrate in downtown LA. He truly believed it should be a national holiday. Dick took pride in his Irish heritage thus visiting Ireland in 2010.

Dick was a devout Catholic with an unwavering faith and strong relationship with God. He was a faithful parishioner of Holy Angels Church for over forty years. He always said that it was his faith in God that would get him through the tough times in life, as his wife Mary Lou died only five short months ago. In addition to his children, Dick is survived by his two grandchildren, Petra Victoria (11) and Owen Amos (9) who lovingly called him "GP Dickie".

A funeral service and celebration of life will be held Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 10:00 am at Holy Angels Catholic Church in Arcadia, California.