Jack Walden Owen

Jack Walden Owen, of Keswick, VA passed away on January 13, 2015 after a brief illness. He was born on September 21, 1928 in Union City, PA to the late Wallace Anson Owen and Rosamond (Walden) Owen. Jack grew up in Waterford, PA, attended a one room schoolhouse through 8th grade and graduated from Fort LeBoeuf High School in 1947. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration (1951) and Occupational Therapy (1953) from Western Michigan University. Following service in the Army Medical Corp during the Korean War, Jack earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1957. While there, he served as a Resident at Indiana University Medical Center where he met and married Charlotte Keller. Jack was employed by the American Hospital Association (AHA) in Chicago for 6 years before moving to Rocky Hill, NJ in 1963 to become President of the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA). During the 19 years he spent at NJHA, he founded the Hospital Research and Educational Trust, the New Jersey Hospital Service Corporation and the Health Care Insurance Exchange of New Jersey. He was a member of the NJ Medical Society and president of the local school board. In 1982, Jack rejoined the AHA as Executive Vice President in their Washington, DC headquarters where he directed the association’s advocacy efforts. He retired in 1989 but continued consulting for the AHA, serving as interim President in 1991. He sat on several boards including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ and the National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare in Washington. Jack received numerous awards recognizing his professional achievements including the AHA’s Distinguished Service Award. In 1995, Jack and Charlotte moved to Charlottesville to spend their retirement years. In addition to his wife Charlotte, Jack is survived by 3 children and their families: daughter Linda Hanson, husband Skip and their daughters Laura, Beth and Kate of Wilson, NC; daughter Lisa Veale, husband Jim and their sons Michael and Ben of Charlottesville, VA; and son Jack W. Owen II, wife Amy and their children Jack III, Courtney, Lindsay and Mark of Annandale, VA. He is also survived by his brothers Howard and Vic and sister Jill, as well as many nieces, nephews and extended family. Jack was an active member of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Charlottesville. He was a gardener, golfer and tennis player into his late 70s. He was an artist whose paintings hang in his home and the homes of his children. He loved summers spent at the family’s cottage on Silver Lake in New Hampshire, especially the time he spent fishing. Most importantly, Jack was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be missed by all who knew him. The family would like to thank the staff at Our Lady of Peace for the care they provided to Jack this past year, as well as the nurses and physicians at Martha Jefferson Hospital who cared for him in the last week of his life. A memorial service will be conducted 2:30pm Saturday, January 24, 2015 at St. Mark Lutheran Church, 100 Alderman Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903. The family will receive friends 7 to 9pm Friday, January 23, 2015 at Teague Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Mark Lutheran Church or the Alzheimer Association, 1160 Pepsi Place, Suite 306 Charlottesville, VA 22901.