LANSING STATE JOURNAL Lansing Michigan Sunday 2/4/2018 pg A7 L.S.J.COMLSJ.COM EAST LANSING – Faylene Owen was an unshakable supporter of the causes and candidates she believed in. Candidates like former President Bill Clinton and Gov. Jim Blanchard. Causes like the Sparrow Hospital Foundation and the Michigan State University Hillel Student Center. But above all, she was passionate about the Lansing area’s hometown university. “What she became most attached to was Michigan State,” Owen’s husband, Larry Owen, said. “It was her adopted school.” Owen, a former MSU Trustee and renowned charitable and political fund- raiser, died Thursday. She was 82. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Congregation Shaarey Zedek at 1924 Coolidge Rd. in East Lansing. Owen was born in Detroit and attended Wayne State University. She met Larry Owen while working on Gov. Jim Blanchard’s 1982 campaign, and the two married in 1986. “She’s a force of nature,” Larry Owen said. “No one forgot Faylene after they met her.” Faylene Owen served as a Michigan State University trustee between 2006 and 2014. Larry said his wife relished the opportunity to help students with problems big and small. During her career, Faylene Owen also became known as a premier fundraiser, raising millions for Bill Clinton’s ‘92 and ‘96 presidential campaigns. She also used those skills when supporting causes like Sparrow Hospital Founda- tion and Child Abuse Prevention Ser- vices. Faylene Owen was a charming and tireless fundraiser, said Kelly Rossman- McKinney, a former aide to Democratic Gov. James Blanchard who worked with Owen in the 1980s. “She was absolutely relentless about raising money,” Ross- man-McKinney said. “If she was raising money for a cause or candidate, she would just wear you down. I gave her money when I didn’t have money because it was easier than taking one more phone call.” Despite her tenacity, Faylene was always gracious, Rossman-McKinney said. “She always showed a lot of gratitude and appreciation when you did make a contribution and it showed,” she said. Owen is survived by her husband of 31 years, Larry; sister, Sherry Kaye; children, Cindy, Marc and Susan; grand children, Jennifer, Eric and Jack Owen; and great-grandchildren, Isla, Gavin and Cooper. Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or [email protected]. Former MSU trustee dies at 82 Faylene Owen served between 2006 and 2014 Haley Hansen Lansing State Journal USA TODAY NETWORK — MICHIGAN Faylene Owen