[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING CHARLES ``CHUCK'' W. OWEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 18, 2012

  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Charles 
``Chuck'' W. Owen, a former Laredo Morning Times news reporter, Church 
of Christ Minister and veteran. Mr. Owen's actions in his lifetime 
resonate with the community as he strived to focus on his faith in his 
work and his family.
  While Mr. Owen was born in Dickson, Tennessee in 1940, his family 
notes that he was a Laredoan by choice, not birth. By the young age of 
19 years old, he joined the Navy and was stationed in Corpus Christi, 
Texas where he met his wife, Clema Owen. By 1962 they married and 
raised their daughters while they traveled the world. He was an air 
traffic controller and instructor during his naval career and was the 
youngest air traffic controller in the history of the naval air station 
at Corpus Christi. His career in the Navy led him on three tours of 
Antarctica.
  He retired from the military while in Corpus Christi and became a 
small business owner with a commercial refrigeration business. After 10 
years, he sold his business and ventured into the hotel business, La 
Quinta Inns where they hired husband-and-wife teams. Working alongside 
with his wife for 8 years, he then started contributing religious 
articles to the local newspaper, the Laredo Morning Times.
  As active members of the Church, Mr. Owen had established a church in 
Laredo 12 years ago, even though he was a member of a different 
congregation. He was devoted to studying the Bible and retired as a 
pastor from the congregation in June of 2011 due to his health.
  Mr. Owen serviced our country as a U.S. Navy lieutenant, delved in 
the business community as a small business owner, wrote religious 
contributions to the local paper and served as a minister to his faith. 
He was faithful, loving and generous in all his work for the community 
and his family. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have had the opportunity 
to recognize the late Chuck Owen. His devotion to the community has 
truly impacted many lives.

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