[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE HON. L. DICK OWEN, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 26, 2005

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, Baldwin County, Alabama, and indeed the 
entire First Congressional District recently lost a dear friend, and I 
rise today to honor him and pay tribute to his memory.
  Senator L. Dick Owen, Jr., was a devoted family man and dedicated 
public servant throughout his entire life. A native of Bay Minette, 
Alabama, he was a 1941 graduate of the University of Alabama in 
Tuscaloosa. Governor George Wallace appointed him to the position of 
Baldwin County Probate Judge in January 1964 following the death of his 
predecessor, Judge Ramsey Stuart. One year later, he was elected to the 
Alabama House of Representatives, where he served two terms before 
running for and winning two terms in the Alabama Senate. His work in 
the state legislature was met with wide praise, and he was honored by 
the Alabama Wildlife Federation as ``Legislative Conservationist of the 
Year,'' and, in 1976, by the Alabama Press Association as ``Most 
Effective Senator.''
  Senator Owen was also actively involved in his community and was a 
charter member of the Bay Minette Rotary Club. He was also honored in 
1982 when the performing arts center of Faulkner State Community 
College--an institution which he helped locate in Bay Minette--was 
named the ``L.D. Owen Performing Arts Center.'' His devotion to his 
fellow man was unmatched, and I do not think there will ever be a full 
accounting of the many people he helped over the course of his 
lifetime.
  Senator Owen was also a proud veteran of the United States Army and 
served with distinction as a member of the famed 82nd Airborne Division 
during World War II, where he earned six Bronze Stars. During the 
Korean War, he returned to active duty, and in 1963 retired from the 
Army Reserve with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a 
dedicated public servant and long-time advocate for Baldwin County, 
Alabama. Senator Owen will be deeply missed by his family--his wife, 
Annie Ruth Heidelberg Owen; his son, L.D. Owen, III; his brother, James 
R. Owen; his sister, Nell Owen Davis; his three grandchildren; and his 
two great-grandchildren--as well as the countless friends he leaves 
behind. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this difficult 
time.

                          ____________________