Elizabeth McCrary Owen

Elizabeth McCrary Owen, 97, of South Boston died January 26, 2020 following a long, full life and a brief battle with cancer.

Elizabeth Owen was born on July 13, 1922 in Danville, Virginia to James Lyman McCrary and Virginia George Swepson McCrary, the youngest of eight children. Her early childhood was spent in a world that hardly exists anymore, the pre-Depression, pre-war charm of a graceful southern town, where her curiosity, taste, and interests were cultivated from an early age. With the Depression, came change, and Elizabeth moved with her family to a simpler life in the country and adapted with her characteristic determination and poise. Among the tobacco fields and singing cicadas, she rode her white horse to school at Turbeville every day, made lifelong friends, and would meet her future husband, Tom.

In 1943 she married Thomas Webster Owen at First Baptist Church in Danville. Following their nuptials, the couple moved to California where Tom, an Army cartographer, was stationed before shipping out to Guam for the remainder of World War II. Following the war, Elizabeth and Tom welcomed their two children, Harry and Ann, and settled into a happy family life in South Boston. Elizabeth and Tom were active members of their church and community, spending weekends in the country gardening, birdwatching, entertaining…and enjoying each other’s company.

Elizabeth was devoted to many interests and hobbies including her church, golf, bridge, the Daughters of the American Revolution, genealogy, flowers, antiques, birds, reading, and her North Carolina Tarheels basketball teams. Above everything, her friends and family were her greatest passion and treasure, and she relished hosting them for dinners, parties, and luncheons at home for special, or just regular occasions.

Elizabeth is survived by her devoted daughter, Ann Ozmer (husband Jim) of Halifax County and grandson Adam Ozmer (partner Frankie Lucostic) of New York City along with nieces, nephews, and cousins that she treasured. She was predeceased by her son, Harry Owen, her husband, Thomas Owen, and her special friend of eight years, Robert Edney.

The family will receive guests on Thursday, January 30 from 7:00pm-8:30pm at Powell Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church in South Boston on Friday, January 31 at 2:00pm, with a private burial to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Baptist Church, 815 Main Street, South Boston, VA, 24592 or the charity of your choice.

Online condolences may be directed to www.powellfuneralinc.com 

Arrangements are by Powell Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 1603 Wilborn Ave., South Boston, VA 24592