Obituary: Owens, Cecile P.
After graduating from Kahlotus High School she attended Washington State College for two years as a Pi Beta Phi before entering Sacred Heart Nursing School, which she completed with distinction in the Class of 1944 with an extra certification in anesthesia.
She proudly enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and served as a 2nd Lieutenant in WW2.
She was happily married to E.H. “Blitz” Harper and had a son, Phil, but Blitz was tragically killed in post-war Japan a month before they were to join him there.
Now a single mother, she worked full time at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, a job she kept (on and off) for decades.
One day a nursing colleague, Irene Owens, suggested that Cile meet her brother, a dashing former Navy pilot.
After a lukewarm blind date, Walter P. (Pat) Owens eventually charmed her into marriage in 1952, a union that produced five more children and lasted 62 years (+1 day), until Pat’s death in September 2014.
Pat and Cile were members of Our Lady of Fatima parish throughout their lives and Cile was active in the Women’s Guild and the choir, and kept the entire family on schedule through baptisms, confirmations and as many holy days of obligation as possible.
She was a past President of the Lilac City Toastmistress club, an accomplished musician, a treasured friend, and a constant reminder of how to live life to its fullest.
The family sincerely prays that the good Lord enjoys a good laugh, and that questionable jokes and bad puns don’t add any years in purgatory, because there isn’t enough penance to be paid for all of her sharp quips and colorful comments.
Cecile is survived by five sons, William Philip Harper (Judy) of Spokane WA; Robert Patrick Owens (Suzanne Little) of Anchorage, AK; Christopher John Owens (Rosemarie Rotunno) of Anchorage AK; Patrick Dennis Owens (Danese) of Anchorage AK; James Arthur Owens of Spokane WA, and one daughter, Kathleen (Kit) Owens White (Richard) of Enumclaw WA - all of whom have stories of cold rubber snakes hidden in freshly laundered (and ironed!)
sheets, and special lunchbox “treats” that were immeasurably untradeable.
Cile was also gifted with and very proud of her ten wonderful grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, all of whom were greatly loved and rarely spared a bit of wisdom.
Please join us to help recognize a life truly worth celebrating on Friday, February 27 beginning with a graveside service at Queen of Peace Cemetery beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by an informal gathering at the Rockwood South Hill Community Center (2105 S. Forest Estates Drive) at 2pm.
To view Cile’s online memorial, please visit, www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com.