Bette Owen

Bette Jean Owen, 80, a resident of rural Albion and widow of Dale F. Owen, passed away at 5:47 p. m. on Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Parkview Noble Hospital in Kendallville. She had been in declining health for the past one and one-half years. Mrs. Owen was born in Noble County on June 8, 1934, a daughter of Fred L. and Jessie A. (Becker) Clouse. She spent her formative years on the family farm in Green Township, and graduated from Albion High School with the Class of 1952. Upon completing her education she was employed at The Lincoln Life Insurance Company in Fort Wayne, and was married at Green Center on September 11, 1954 to Dale F. Owen. Bette was a lifelong resident of Green Township. Previously employed at Dana Corporation in Churubusco for two years and later at the Green Center School cafeteria, she was employed in the offices of Dexter Axle in Albion for 17 years, retiring from human resources there in 1999. A member of the Green Center United Methodist Church, she was also a member of its United Methodist Women and the Green Township Homemakers. In her leisure time she had enjoyed a variety of travel experiences, volunteering at the Green Township Community Center, and most especially loved and cherished her friends and family. Her husband had preceded her in death unexpectedly on March 18, 1989. The surviving relatives include her three children Barbara (Dan) Davis, Daryl L. Owen, and Jeffrey F. Owen, all of Albion; two brothers David (Judy) Clouse of Jackson, Mich., and Hershel (Mary) Clouse of Inver Grove Heights, Minn; her grandchildren Jared (Kelly) Davis, Janelle (Elliott Brown) Davis, Derick Owen, Kyle Owen, and Brent Owen; and three great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a brother Walter Clouse in 2007. Funeral services will be held at 11 a. m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at the Green Center United Methodist Church with Pastors John Schell and Nancy Fergusson, officiating. The family will receive friends at Sheets & Childs Funeral Home in Churubusco on Tuesday from 2 to 8 p. m., or at the church one hour prior to the service Wednesday morning. Interment will be in the Christian Chapel Cemetery, Merriam. For those who wish, memorials may be directed to Green Center United Methodist Women or Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana. **********************************************