[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 22, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF PASTOR JOSEPH OWES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. NORMA J. TORRES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2020

  Mrs. TORRES of California. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart 
that I stand here today to announce that on April 2, we lost Pastor 
Joseph Owes of Pomona, California, to complications with COVID-19. 
Pastor Owes devoted 20 years of his life to providing hope and 
inspiration to the people of Pomona.
  A Georgia native, Pastor Owes spent his formative elementary and 
junior high school years in the South, experiencing desegregation 
firsthand. As difficult as those times were, they taught Pastor Owes to 
``outlast the enemy'' and forgive quickly. He immersed himself in 
football, earning an MVP award and 27 college scholarship offers. 
Eventually he landed on Texas Southern University, where he majored in 
mechanical engineering. After graduating, Pastor Owes worked hard in 
sales and management for five Fortune 500 Companies and married the 
love of his life, Michele Lipkins, in 1986. Together they raised four 
loving children.
  Eventually, Pastor Owes found his way to preaching in 1989 and 
completed his ministerial training, receiving his ordination under the 
leadership of his mentor and friend, Pastor Reuben L. Monmouth II. 
Pastor Owes used his talents of bringing people together to start a 
church inside a maximum-security prison in Texas. There he mentored 
trustees and helped prepare them for the outside world. He later 
established a church and Christian School in Southwest Houston.
  In February of 2000, Pastor Owes accepted an assignment to pastor 
From the Heart Church Ministries of Pomona, serving as a pillar of 
inspiration and guidance for the community. During the economic crash 
of 2009, he was instrumental in bringing badly needed service to the 
Pomona Valley, using his church to host food banks and health fairs, 
and provide job and financial literacy workshops for those struggling 
with foreclosures. I was fortunate to have met him and partner with him 
in providing these services to our community.
  Pastor Owes enjoyed the outdoors and working with his hands to create 
things like slingshots and bow and arrows. He often played racquetball, 
rode his bicycle, and participated in competitive bowling with his 
sons. His friends and family called him the ``Grill Master'' as he 
often cooked large meals for his loved ones. One of his greatest joys 
was spending time with his family and having all the children and 
grandchildren together under one roof.
  For his exemplary life, Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize 
Pastor Joseph Owes. His decades of service and contributions to our 
community are worthy of admiration, and his memory will live on through 
the countless lives he has impacted. Pastor Owes is survived by his 
wife of 22 years, Michele, their four children, six grandchildren, and 
a host of other family and friends. May he rest in peace.

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