Martha Louise Fuller Owens, 82, of Ocilla, Georgia died Tuesday, June 10, 2014, at her home.
Funeral services will be held at 11 A.M., Friday, June 13, 2014 at the Ocilla United Methodist Church with the Rev. Jay Roberson and Dr. Evelyn Laycock officiating. Interment will follow in the Ocilla Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6-8 Thursday evening at the funeral home in Ocilla.
Mrs. Owens was born on March 12, 1932, in Ocilla, Georgia, to the late Frances Gary and Andrew Thomas Fuller. She was a graduate of the Ocilla High School class of 1949, received an Associate's Degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri in 1951 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Recreation from the University of Florida in 1953. In 1973, she received the degree of Master of Education from Valdosta State College.
Mrs. Owens was founder and director of Every Child a Winner, a US Department of Education model program in elementary physical education, which was disseminated nationally over a number of years from its base in the Irwin County School System. Co-author of seven books and a film on the Every Child a Winner program, Mrs. Owens also received numerous awards for her leadership role, including the prestigious Honor Award from the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (AAHPER), and a President's Citation from Stephens College.
Following her career in education, and after the death of her father, Mrs. Owens successfully managed the AT Fuller timber and farm operations in several South Georgia counties.
Mrs. Owens was an active member of the Ocilla United Methodist Church, where she taught the "Caring" Sunday School class. She was a member of the Ocilla Book Club, and a longtime supporter of the Lake Junaluska Associates. An enthusiastic golfer, she enjoyed spending time in the mountains of North Carolina.
She is survived by her children: Richard C. Owens, Jr. of Lexington, Frances Gary Owens of Tifton, and James Andrew “Jim” Owens & his wife Carol of Ocilla, and their father Richard C. "Dick" Owens, Sr. of Valdosta; grandchildren: Pvt James A. “Jimmy” Owens, Jr., United States Army, Fort Benning and Katie Montgomery of Macon; longtime friend Susan Rockett of Douglas, as well as a niece and nephew, Carol Louise Southerland of Panama City, and Andrew Thomas Taylor of San Francisco. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Elizabeth Ann Fuller Gary.
The family accepts floral tributes or suggests memorial donations be made in Mrs. Owens’ name to the Ocilla United Methodist Church.