In loving memory ~
Wilfrid "Barry" Owen died April 20, 2025, at age 89, after a fall and a brief stay in Penticton Regional Hospital. Barry was born in Powell River to Dorothy Jennet Owen, née Hopkins, and Wilfrid John Morris Owen.
Barry was named for his mother's birthplace in Wales, which she left in the early 1900s. The Owen family were B.C. pioneers in the Mara area in the 1880s. His father, Wilfrid Sr, laid out many roads in the Interior, worked on flood control, and headed up the construction of the Penticton Channel.
Barry was predeceased by his wife of almost 60 years, Gwendolen Owen (née Weldrake); sister-in-law, Anne Geernaert, and her husband, Edward; niece, Patricia Geernaert; and his cousins. He is survived by his children, Dave (Elmira), Carol Anne (Mark) and John (Christine); and grandchildren, Kimberley, Barry, Ada, and Maya.
Barry grew up in Powell River and Penticton, then had a varied career working in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec for Mannix Company, throughout B.C. for Interior Contracting, in Penticton for the Department of Highways, bookkeeping for copper mines in Tasu (Haida Gwaii) and Princeton, owning the Princeton Taxi Company for two years, and working at the Weyerhaeuser Mill in Princeton. He spoke fondly of his time in Haida Gwaii, then the Queen Charlotte Islands, where he fished, caught prawns, hunted, and piloted an aluminum boat on family outings.
With his wife, Gwen, he was a longtime member of Princeton's United Church, using his bookkeeping skills as treasurer. Other activities included joining the Knights of Pythias and Penticton United Church after he and Gwen moved back to Penticton in retirement.
The family are very grateful to the wonderful staff at Charles Manor, where he lived since 2022, and the nurses and doctors at Penticton Regional Hospital who made his last days comfortable.