Nickname: "Corky"

December 1, 1937 - June 21, 2024

LEAGUE CITY:

Carl Edward Owens, Sr., a devout Christian from League City, Texas went to be with the Lord on June 21, 2024, at the age of 86. Though he spent the majority of his life in League City and Hitchcock, Texas, Carl also resided in Maydelle, Texas after he retired and was a member of First Baptist Church of Maydelle. Carl was the oldest child of five, born to Cecil Wyman Owens and Katherine Owens. Many years later, after Katherine passed away, Cecil married Mary Hechler of Alta Loma.

Carl was pre-deceased by his parents, stepmother, and sister Joyce Elaine Owens. Carl is survived by his wife of over 57 years, Gale Owens and their three children: Carl Owens, Jr. (Brenda) of League City; Jon Owens (Jamie) of League City; and Sherri Yacuk (Jason) of Pearland, Texas and eight grandchildren: Adam, Katelyn, Audrey, Camryn, Carson, Kaley, Aaron, and Kinsley.  Carl is also survived by his siblings: Glenda Owens of Hitchcock; Kenny Owens (Joyce Lea) of Hitchcock and their sons Stephen Owens and Bradley Owens; and Carol Sue Humphrey (Jimmy) of Pearland and their son Ron Lofton. 

Carl was born in Galveston and raised in Hitchcock. Many will remember Carl graduated from Hitchcock High School in 1956. From there he went into the United States Navy where he attended military boot camp in Chicago, Illinois and was then stationed in Seattle where he was trained by IBM in data processing.

On his return to Hitchcock, Monsanto hired Carl as a Computer Analyst. Many people will also remember Carl's Bike Shop in Hitchcock during the 1960’s where he sold and repaired bicycles and lawn mowers as a second job while working at Monsanto.

Carl and his wife Gale lived in Hitchcock and started their little family. Within a few years, the family of five needed more room and they moved to League City in the late 1970’s to raise their family.

Carl was very musically inclined and taught himself to play the piano and organ by ear very well. He used his talents to play the organ at church every Sunday at Grace Bible Church in Hitchcock from the 1960’s through 2000.

In addition to loving music, Carl had other interests including a love for trains. As a young boy he would go down to the Hitchcock train depot and watch steam engines come in. He also began collecting model trains around age 15 which continued throughout his life. Later in life, he enjoyed seeing the Texas State Railroad steam engines come through their little town of Maydelle and loved hearing the steam engine’s whistle blowing through the woods of East Texas. Carl was also very mechanically inclined and could fix just about anything. This extended to his love for lawn mowers which he enjoyed repairing for his coworkers, good friends and family.

While working at Monsanto, it was acquired by a new company called Sterling Chemicals, but Carl continued and stayed in the same office for 41 years until he retired in 1999. Upon his retirement, Gale also retired from teaching school after 22 years. Their children had grown up and started their own families. It was time to enjoy retirement.

Carl and Gale started a business in 1999 called Gale's Gallery traveling to vendor shows selling handmade Native American Indian jewelry. They were always impressed by the beautiful Indian design, craftsmanship and artwork. In 2005, they moved to the piney woods of East Texas near a little town called Maydelle, Texas. Their business continued until 2016 when they decided to settle down for retirement. They joined Maydelle First Baptist Church, and Carl once again used his musical talents to play the organ for the church services.

Carl had a lifelong dream, however, that had not been fulfilled. He loved the sound of pipe organs. More than anything else, he talked about wanting to have the experience of playing a pipe organ. With the help of Brenda's parents, David and LaNell Clark, who were members of Clear Lake United Methodist Church, Carl was offered the opportunity to play hymns on the church's pipe organ one afternoon in May of 2019. Carl was forever grateful and felt blessed to have his lifelong dream, which he never thought possible, come true. He never tired of telling everyone what an amazing experience that was for him!

Carl will be greatly missed by all and remembered fondly for his compassion, humor and strong faith in God.

The memorial service will be livestreamed and also available for viewing afterwards through Clear Lake United Methodist Church. To access the livestream, please visit this link: https://vimeo.com/event/4481295/a6d4621151 

Please consider a donation in Carl’s honor directly to The Gideons International to help spread the word of God.

To donate online, please visit https://www.gideons.org/donate

While completing the Gideons online donation form, you may select the checkboxes for both "Dedicate your donation in memory..." and "In memory of". Then enter his name, "Carl E. Owens", in the Honoree Name field.

Donations can also be made to Clear Lake United Methodist Church to support their ministries and mission projects. Please visit https://www.clearlakemethodis… to donate online.

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