Lois Ann Owens Irvin died peacefully at her home on August 18, 2019. Lois Ann was a native of Glynn County and was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph L. and Lois King Owens, and her brothers, Dr. Joseph L. Owens Jr. and D. Paul Owens, and by her nephew, Donald P. Owens Jr.
A Graveside Memorial Service will be held on September 7, 2019 at 11 o’clock AM at Brunswick Memorial Park, 4407 Highway 17 North.
A luncheon to celebrate the life of Lois Ann will be held at Brunswick Country Club immediately following the Memorial Service and all family and friends are invited to gather and share their memories of Lois Ann.
Lois Ann was a proud graduate of the Glynn Academy Class of 1960 and enjoyed gatherings with friends from her class for a monthly lunch. In 1964, Lois Ann graduated from Loyola University of the South in New Orleans with degrees in English and Latin. She later received Masters Degrees from the University of Georgia in English and Behavioral Disorders.
Following her marriage, Lois Ann resided in Milledgeville where she taught at the Education Center at Central State Hospital, eventually rising to Supervisor of the Center. It was a far different time in the understanding and treatment of children with learning disabilities or behavioral issues and Lois Ann strove to help the children in her care to learn and grow and move beyond institutional care. On many a weekend, some child would be released in her custody to enjoy a family weekend with Lois Ann. And some of her proudest days were graduation days when one or two or seven or eight of the children at the Education Center received their high school diplomas.
After retiring from teaching, Lois Ann returned to Glynn County and enjoyed renewing old friendships and making new friends. She was an avid bridge player and often read a new book every day. She loved to travel and was quite adventurous from riding a helicopter to the top of a glacier for a stroll on the blue ice to touring Ireland where she had to learn to drive a stick shift with the controls on the wrong side while driving on the wrong side of the road. And she was always the first pick when the family played Trivial Pursuit because of her breadth of knowledge and her amazing memory.
Lois Ann was an Atlanta Braves fanatic, watching every game from Spring Training to the end of the season, even in the years when the season felt like it should have ended long before it did. Some of her happiest outings were attendance at Mercer University First Pitch Classic Dinners where she met some of her Braves heroes, including Dale Murphy, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. She was also a proud fan of the Georgia Bulldogs –much to the aggravation of her brothers who were both graduates of the University of Notre Dame.
Lois Ann lived a life that made a difference in the lives of others – particularly those children in her care at Central State Hospital and the children in her own family. She was a terrific aunt and great aunt and great, great aunt. She is survived by her nieces and nephews: M. Diane Owens (Lilburn), Paula Owens Almand ( Dick, Buford), Susan Owens Parker (Brad, Olympia, WA), Joseph L. Owens, III ( Tina, St. Simons) and Ann King Owens (St. Simons), several great nieces and nephews and great, great nieces and nephews, and by her Sister-in-Law, Christine Dillaman.
Lois Ann was a member of Christ Church Frederica. She has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia, 4627 US-17 N, Brunswick, GA 31525. hsscg.org
Arrangements are entrusted into the care of Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home www.edomillerandsons.com
