Owen Duckworth went home to be with his Lord on July 11, 2006. A former resident of Arizona, he was living at the Newkirk Nursing Center at the time of his death. Following his wife's death he moved to Oklahoma in January to be closer to his family. He would have been 91 years old next week
Owen was born in Deer Creek, Oklahoma on July 22, 1915. He was the youngest child of William Duckworth of Indiana and Esther (Shoemaker) Duckworth of Illinois. Growing up in a family of five sisters and three brothers, Owen often expressed to his nieces that being the "baby" of the family had many advantages. He loved being pampered by his older siblings. Having a serious childhood illness which caused him to miss a year of school got him even more attention. The unconditional love the family had for each other endured all thru their life times. Owen was the last survivor of his brothers and sisters.

Owen grew up on the family farm and was in the 1935 graduating class of Deer Creek High School. After graduation, he worked at various jobs from the local funeral home to appliance & radio repair. He worked in the aerospace industry as a machinist for many years until his retirement.

Owen was a lifetime member of the IOOF. He also held a lifetime membership in the Maricopa Lapidary Society.

Owen and Mary DeBuhr were married in Hunnewell, Kansas in 1941. They lived in Deer Creek, Blackwell & later Ponca City. Mary & Owen had a deep love for each other that few are fortunate to ever find. They lived for one another. Mary passed away in January 2006 but even after her death, Owen always felt her presence.

When WWII started, he went to the draft board to join up and was told that being the only radio repairman in the area, he could serve his country best by staying at his job fixing radios so the people at home could be kept informed about the war.

Owen & Mary moved to Arizona in 1965. They enjoyed camping, fishing, ghost towns and rock hunting. They loved the desert. They belong to the Haven United Methodist Church in Jerome, Arizona. Owen spent hundreds of hours restoring this historical church that he and Mary loved so much.

Owen always referred to himself as just a handyman; however, his nieces and nephews considered him to be a true genius with all his clever inventions. Owen was always in his workshop fabricating some clever devise that would make Mary & his life better. He was asked many times why he didn't patent his inventions and he always replied that what he made was just for his personal use. He enjoyed woodworking, building clocks & furniture and making jewelry from the stones he and Mary found in the desert. One of his last projects was building a pipe organ from scratch. Due to his failing health, it was never completed.

Owen had an amazing talent and love for music. He had no formal music training but played the violin, harmonica and organ by ear. During his school years, he formed a music group called "The Merry Makers" providing entertainment at the local functions in the Deer Creek area. Music always was an important part of his life. He played the organ every morning while Mary prepared his breakfast. He had hundreds of songs committed to memory with the old gospel songs being his favorite.

Owen saw many changes in his 91 years from horse and buggy to man landing on the moon. Owen always felt that this was the best time in history to have lived. When Owen was a child, his father predicted that one day Owen would see a man walk on the moon. When his father's prediction came to be, Owen cried remembering his father's words from so many years ago.

In a conversation with Owen after his wife's death, his nieces talked with him about how wonderful it will be to see Mary's face again when he crosses over. He replied "You know – the face that I really want to see is the face of Jesus". He has seen the face of his God and is finally at home with all of his loved ones who went before him.

Private graveside services will be held at a later date at the Rosehill Cemetery in South Haven, Kansas.

Owen is survived by his nieces and nephews: Janet DeBuhr Woods, Ruth Klinger and her husband Doc Wilson of Ponca City, OK; Linda DeBuhr Snyder and her husband Coby of Billings, OK; Brenda DeBuhr and Doris DeBuhr of Ponca City, OK; Burford Duckworth of Corpus Christi, TX; Norman Duckworth of Tulsa, OK; Merlene Shiplett of Wichita, KS; Wesley Webb of Blackwell, OK; Al Steagall of Swannanoa, North Carolina; Joan Drummond of Decatur, Georgia; Helen Hall of Ponca City, OK.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, his parents; five sisters, Esther Bontz, Veda Steagall, Eunice Burkhalter, Leota Curfamn and Sarah Webb; three brothers, Otis, Clarence & Eugene Duckworth.