Delmas "Owen" Tackett, Jr.

Delmas Owen Tackett Jr. had many wonderful nicknames, but his favorites were Daddy-O and Papa. Owen, 73, passed away suddenly on January 25, 2025, in Banning, CA. He was born in Upland, CA on July 18, 1951, and lived most of his life in Ontario, CA.

A visitation for our beloved father, Owen, will be held Wednesday, February 19, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Valley View Chapel at Montecito Memorial Park, 3520 East Washington Street, Colton, California 92324.

A celebration of life will be held Thursday, February 20, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Valley View Chapel at Montecito Memorial Park, 3520 East Washington Street, Colton, California 92324.

A committal service will be held Thursday, February 20, 2025, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Cemetery, 3510 East Washington Street, Colton, California 92324.

Delmas Owen Tackett Jr. was born on a summer day, July 18, 1951, the first of 8 children, to parents Delmas Owen Tackett Sr. and Norma Lee Tackett (Lawson) in Upland, California. Owen was a small, happy baby with a big personality. A popular story that endured through his many years of life was that when he was in grade school, he jumped on top of his desk and belted out his rendition of an Elvis Presley song “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog. Just cryin’ all the time”. Owen was always ready to entertain his family and friends, or to play silly practical jokes on them to get a laugh.

Owen is a Chaffey High School alumnus who dabbled in poetry and was a member of the Tigers swim team. After high school, Owen began a career at General Electric as a skilled maintenance mechanic where he was instantly smitten by his wife to be, Maria Altagracia Lopez in 1969. The young couple were married on September 23, 1972, raised 2 daughters, and were bonded for 51 years, until Alta passed away in October of 2023. Their love endured many highs, lows, and everything in between. And through it all, they chose each other each and every day.

For the next 2-3 decades, Owen worked for the City of Ontario and later, as a special education bus driver for Laidlaw in the Ontario-Montclair School District. Where he was loved and revered by students for his boundless kindness, enduring patience and witty sense of humor. In fact, he once told me that before he set his bus in motion, he would let his students have a screaming competition to rid themselves of any extra energy and/or anxiety. That kind of intuitive insightfulness made the bus ride better for everyone.

Our dad was an outdoor enthusiast with the untamed heart of an adventurer, who loved the ocean and the mountains. In his youth, he was a blonde, long-haired hippie that could be found snorkeling or surfing the waves in Laguna Beach in his cutoff jeans one day. And the next day, he could be hiking in the backcountry or off roading in his Land Cruiser in Mount Baldy with his young family in tow. Owen often enjoyed sitting outside on his porch or rocking out in his car to finish a great song. Many of these moments of time offered countless gazes at sunrises, sunsets, starry nights, deeply heartfelt conversations, and hands drumming on the dash of his car. Owen wowed us all with his natural ability to swim as effortlessly as the fish in the ocean to playing the piano by ear without a single lesson.

Owen had the uncanny ability to connect with anyone and everyone he ever met. He was generous to a fault. As he truly was that guy who would give you the shirt off his back if he felt you needed it more. He was genuinely a charming, kind, sensitive soul who was easily one of the wittiest people many of us have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Owen was the fun uncle and dad who was either leading the conga line or becoming the human jungle gym to gleefully entertain his children, nieces, and nephews. Both of which, elicited delightful shrieks from all and boisterous belly laughs from him and his usual accomplice, his “little” brother Doug.

Owen was also great at lending his ear to anyone who wanted to share their thoughts, and he was full of profound advice that we called Dad-isms. Like “Wherever you go, there you are” and the frustrating childhood favorite “Tough titty said the kitty but the milk’s still good”. And who can forget the Pee Wee Herman years of “I know you are, but what am I?”.

As unwavering as his humor was, Owen’s heart was just as grand. So much so, he cared deeply for nature and God’s creatures from the littlest spider to the largest whale. But most of all, he loved sharing his full life with his loving wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, parents, siblings, extended family, friends, many fur babies like Barney “Bubba” the Saint Bernard, and his kitties Smitty and Wolfy.

Thank you, Dad for taking us on your “magic carpet ride”. We’ll forever cherish your countless winks, silly shoulder shrugs, bouncing eyebrow raises, bear hugs, and whisker kisses. Your well-timed humor kept us going in times of joy and sorrow. You taught us to look for the beauty that exists all around in the skies above, seas below, and all the land in between. We know we’ll find you there and everywhere. With every twinkle of the stars, the rhythmic crashing of ocean waves, pine scented breezes, in the sweetness of a peach, or even while “tickling” sea anemone in tide pools, we will lovingly think of you.

We know you will send our enduring love to Mom and all our loved ones who have passed before you. We will miss you until the day God chooses when we will see you again. May you find peace and comfort in God’s loving embrace.

We love you, heart and soul, Daddy-O.

Owen is survived by his two daughters, Lorien Billings (Jeff), Lucinda Cater (James); Six grandchildren: Christian Fielding, Gannon Billings, Chase Cater, Grant Billings, Savannah Billings, and Annabella Cater; four sisters: Patricia Starnes, Rebecca Tackett-Galaz, Kathryn Galaz (Randal), and Sharri Meierhofer (Ken); a plethora of nieces, nephews, and extended family. He was preceded in death by his wife Maria Alta Tackett; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Delmas Tackett Sr.; two brothers, Alvin A. Tackett and Lonnie D. Tackett, and one sister, Victoria Rayburn.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/colton-ca/delmas-tackett-12220464 for the Tackett family.

I'm Free

To the living, I am gone,

To the sorrowful, I will never return,

To the angry, I was cheated,

But to the happy, I am at peace,

And to the faithful, I have never left.

I cannot speak, but I can listen.

I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.

So, as you stand upon the shore gazing at a beautiful sea,

As you look in awe at a mighty forest and its simplicity,

Remember me.

Remember me in your heart;

Your thoughts, your memories,

Of the times we loved,

The times we cried,

The times we fought,

The times we laughed.

For if you always think of me,

I will never have gone.

Margaret Mead