Mr. Frederick George Owles Jr.

OWLES, JR., FREDERICK GEORGE, March 25, 1925 - October 10, 2010. Survived by his daughter Alyson Owles of Winter Park; his son Ted Owles and daughter in law, Natalie Owles of Murphy, TX; his two grandsons Austin & Nathan Owles of Murphy, TX; sister, Marion Sullivan of Winter Park, pre-deceased sisters, Nathalie Sandford, Orlando and Eleanor Woodnick of Yalaha, FL. Fred had so many nieces and nephews including grand nieces and grand nephews to mention by name. Born in Brooklyn NY he lived in Long Island until he was ten. He then moved to College Park - Dubsdread with his family and worked in the orange groves with his father and also ran a fruit packing plant. Fred delivered orange marmalade for customers all over Florida when he eventually learned to drive, and loved it. He graduated from Winter Park High School in 1943 and The University of Florida (Kappa Alpha) in 1950 with a major in architecture, drafting and structural design. Just 16 hours after receiving his diploma, he was called to active duty in the Army Reserve Corps. He became Chief of the Planning Division of the Corps of Engineers at Ft. McPherson Ga. During his service, he was one of the original army officers sent to Thule Air Base, Greenland to do the initial work of laying out and establishing that base. During his years in the Army, he received many letters of commendation for his work in the Engineering section of the Corps and was honorably discharged as an Army Captain of the Corp of Engineers. He married Fae Bidgood in 1954 in Valdosta, GA, and after a short stint with an architectural firm, the Owles decided to make Winter Park their home. He worked at Aero-jet for one year before opening his own practice on Edgewater Drive. Fred was selected to design the Sunshine Park development center, the new science facility at Edgewater and Boone High School. He designed the Winter Park Youth Center, redesigned the Orlando Air Force Base/Navy Base Officers Club, Maitland Jr. High School, Memorial Middle School, Orange County Juvenile Court, Boys Detention Center of Okeechobee and many other youth centers and State funded schools in Central Florida. He was selected by the Fl Cabinet to design the 12 million dollar, 600 inmate Brevard Correctional Facility which was one of his favorite accomplishments. He was Chairman of the Orlando Arts Building committee for the then, new Loch Haven Arts Center. Governor Farris Bryant appointed him Architect for the Fl Hotel and Restaurant Commission for Lake, Orange, Seminole and Sumter Counties. As a practicing Catholic, he was thrilled to be named as the Catholic Diocese of Orlando Architect which included St Margaret Mary and St Mary Magdalene, and one of his favorite churches and schools in St. Cloud, St. Thomas Aquinas and many more to his credit. The FL Dept of Agriculture tapped him for the Animal Diagnostic Laboratories for the State as well as the original Winter Park City Hall. As President of the Mid Fl Chapter of American Institute of Architects, Director of Orlando Exchange Club, VP of Orange County Young Democrats and VP of the American Military Engineers and member of the Winter Park Civil Defense he continued his civic duties to make Central Florida a beautiful place to live. As the Governor appointed Architect for the new Florida Technological University which is now UCF, he designed the first six buildings and then brought in three additional architects to complete the master planning & design of the University. The Administration Building, which still looks timeless today, was his favorite project at UCF. He continued with other University buildings and eventually dorms after the school became so large. He was in awe of the present and extensive University that was once out in the middle of nowhere. The condominiums he designed were many throughout Florida - he always mentioned that The Four Seasons of Winter Park and all of the Carlton Arms properties around Florida are some of his most favorably built condos. At 58 years of age he achieved his new endeavor as a General contractor. After passing the State Board he began to design and build his own projects. He started his new niche of buildings within the mini warehouse - storage industry and continued to design and build warehouses for many companies in Central Florida including his own, Private Storage before he finally retired. With his many accomplishments over the 85 years of his life, he will continue to live on in the buildings and contributions that were made to improve Central Florida. The Funeral Home visitation will be at Carey Hand Cox Parker on Fairbanks Avenue in Winter Park, on Friday, Oct. 15 th from 10am to 12 noon. Graveside service will be at Palm Cemetery, Winter Park on Friday at 12:15 p.m. Phone 407-647-1942.