Mary Katherine Wendel Owen

November 6, 1932 - December 30, 2019

Mary Katherine Wendel Owen, 87, died December 30, at her residence in Memphis, TN. She was a native of Memphis and a graduate of St. Agnes Academy. She attended Georgetown Visitation College in Washington, D.C. and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1954. She taught at White Station High School for five years before marrying William H. Owen in 1959. She moved to rural Cross County Arkansas with her husband. Theirs was an extraordinary life. Although the two were very different in personality, they shared a strong faith, adventurous, pioneering and giving spirits. They were happy and successful; raised two daughters, Katherine and Joan and enjoyed close friendships in the community and beyond. Her love of education led her to help establish the local literacy council, volunteering as a reading instructor. She was also very active within St. Peter’s School and parish. She returned to Memphis in 2001 following her husband’s death. Immediately, she became an active parishioner at St. Louis Catholic Church, reconnected with old friends and made many new ones. She and her friends traveled extensively around the world, visiting countries in the Middle East, Europe and Central and South America. An avid reader, she enjoyed participating in her book club and in the governance of her new home, a small condominium building in East Memphis. Family and friends will remember her as a devoted wife and mother and will treasure her many gifts as a thoughtful, generous and gracious woman who put others before self. She is pre-deceased by her parents John W. Wendel and Katherine Schmalzried Wendel and her husband William H. Owen. She leaves her two daughters, Katherine (Tom) and Joan (Chuck). Visitation will be 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 2nd at Canale Funeral Directors. Funeral Mass will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, January 3rd at St. Louis Catholic Church, with burial to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be sent to St. Louis Catholic Church or Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care.