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Owen Burton McKenzie

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Owen Burton McKenzie

Birth
Longwood, Clark County, Wisconsin, USA
Death
2 Feb 2005 (aged 84)
Milan, Rock Island County, Illinois, USA
Burial
Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois, USA Add to Map
Plot
X - 439
Memorial ID
View Source
Owen B. McKenzie, 84, of Milan, flew his last mission on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005.

Services are 10 a.m. Friday at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Coal Valley. Burial is in National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. Visitation is 4 to 7 p.m. today at Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Coal Valley. The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the church or Alleman High School.

Owen Burton McKenzie was born Jan. 7, 1921, in Longwood, Wis., son of Charles Everet and Isabelle Phelps McKenzie. He graduated from East Moline High School and Worsham College of Mortuary Science, Chicago. He served in the Army Air Corps Eighth Air Forces 487th Bomb Group in the European Theater during World War II. From July to November 1944, he flew 34 successful missions on a B-17G Flying Fortress, earning him recognition by citation as a member of The Lucky Bastard Club. He married Eileen Hermes June 23, 1945, in Rapids City, Ill.

Owen was property manager for Oak Glen Home, Coal Valley, for 15 years; commercial property manager for Lee Enterprises, Davenport, for 15 years; and retired from the Rock Island Water Department in 1985.

He was past commander of the Coal Valley American Legion, a co-founder of the Sherrard VFW and helped organize the American Legion Polio Clinic in the late 1950s. He enjoyed golf, bowling, woodworking, traveling, the outdoors, and was an inventor and Mr. Fix-it.

Owen is survived by his wife, Eileen; four children and spouses, Jenifer McKenzie, Palatine, Ill., Michelle McKenzie, Rock Island, Molly McKenzie and Thomas Holbrook, Belleville, Ill., and Thomas and Judy McKenzie, Irving, Texas; daughter-in-law, Christine McKenzie, East Moline; four grandchildren, Katie and Jared Montgomery of Davenport, Betsy and Shane Harper, Andy McKenzie and Peter McKenzie, all of East Moline; one great-granddaughter, McKenzie Harper of East Moline; and a sister, Helen Imig, The Dalles, Ore. He was preceded in death by a son, Gregory McKenzie, four brothers and three sisters.

"While his time with us was finite, his legacy is boundless."
(Rock Island Argus, Feb. 3, 2005)
Owen B. McKenzie, 84, of Milan, flew his last mission on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005.

Services are 10 a.m. Friday at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Coal Valley. Burial is in National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. Visitation is 4 to 7 p.m. today at Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Coal Valley. The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the church or Alleman High School.

Owen Burton McKenzie was born Jan. 7, 1921, in Longwood, Wis., son of Charles Everet and Isabelle Phelps McKenzie. He graduated from East Moline High School and Worsham College of Mortuary Science, Chicago. He served in the Army Air Corps Eighth Air Forces 487th Bomb Group in the European Theater during World War II. From July to November 1944, he flew 34 successful missions on a B-17G Flying Fortress, earning him recognition by citation as a member of The Lucky Bastard Club. He married Eileen Hermes June 23, 1945, in Rapids City, Ill.

Owen was property manager for Oak Glen Home, Coal Valley, for 15 years; commercial property manager for Lee Enterprises, Davenport, for 15 years; and retired from the Rock Island Water Department in 1985.

He was past commander of the Coal Valley American Legion, a co-founder of the Sherrard VFW and helped organize the American Legion Polio Clinic in the late 1950s. He enjoyed golf, bowling, woodworking, traveling, the outdoors, and was an inventor and Mr. Fix-it.

Owen is survived by his wife, Eileen; four children and spouses, Jenifer McKenzie, Palatine, Ill., Michelle McKenzie, Rock Island, Molly McKenzie and Thomas Holbrook, Belleville, Ill., and Thomas and Judy McKenzie, Irving, Texas; daughter-in-law, Christine McKenzie, East Moline; four grandchildren, Katie and Jared Montgomery of Davenport, Betsy and Shane Harper, Andy McKenzie and Peter McKenzie, all of East Moline; one great-granddaughter, McKenzie Harper of East Moline; and a sister, Helen Imig, The Dalles, Ore. He was preceded in death by a son, Gregory McKenzie, four brothers and three sisters.

"While his time with us was finite, his legacy is boundless."
(Rock Island Argus, Feb. 3, 2005)

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