Barney "Buck" William Owen

Barney William “Buck” Owen, of Groesbeck, passed away at home on Thursday, January 25, 2018, at age 85. Visitation will begin at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 27, 2018 in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel, with services following at 11:00 A.M., with Chaplain Jon Honea officiating. Burial will follow in Faulkenberry Cemetery, but no services will be held at the graveside. Buck was born March 10, 1932 in Ben Hur to John George Owen and Eula Mae (Williams) Owen. Buck was united in marriage with Marvis Lou Watts in Mexia on September 8, 1951. They had been introduced six months earlier by one of his friends, and they worked, raised a family and were devoted to each other for the next sixty-six years. After a brief search for work in California, they settled in the west Texas town of Roscoe. Buck started working at age 19 for Lone Star Cement in the nearby town of Maryneal. He started to work there as a painter, and then operated all types of heavy equipment, doing much of the mechanical work on the equipment himself. Buck and Marvis raised their two sons and daughter in Roscoe, and he was a wonderful Dad. His sons and daughter realize his shoes cannot be filled but know they have been richly blessed with such a wonderful father and mother. Buck had many skills including a mechanical aptitude. He loved working on his 56 Buick, Old Blue, and taught his sons how to do a little bit of everything. When Buck retired March 15, 1985, after thirty-three years at the cement plant, he and Marvis left the very next day to head to Groesbeck to build their house on land they had bought. Although Buck was “retired” for the next thirty-three years, he actually never retired, but was working for himself using his carpenter and mechanical skills for the rest of his life. Buck and Marvis moved to Limestone County near Red Hill and did the largest percent of building their house with their own two hands. Out of their sixty-six years of marriage they only missed one year in having a garden, although the size of the gardens gradually grew smaller. They called their place “Owen Triangle;” Buck was the foreman and Marvis was the top-hand. They started a cattle herd with a purchase of their first three cows and grew to a much larger herd, naming each cow and making pets of them. At one point, they also raised emus for a short time, and always enjoyed raising chickens. During the past two years when his health required taking life easier, he liked to sit in his recliner on the back porch and peacefully watch all the birds, including red birds and humming birds, and look for deer and squirrels to come in the yard. He always enjoyed being with his family, and in a recent quiet moment when asked what he was thinking of, he said “his family." Buck was preceded in death by his parents, John G. and Eula Mae Own; sisters, Gladys Cox, and Dorothy Owen, and daughter-in-law, Lenita Owen. He is survived by his wife, Marvis Owen of Groesbeck; son, Randy Owen of Titusville, FL; daughter and son-in-law, Bobbie and Mitch Hayes of Salado; and son and daughter-in-law, Wesley and Walliene Owen of Garland. His seven grandchildren are: Nathan Owen, Zach Owen, Matthew Owen and Jamie, Jennifer Hayes, Stephen Hayes, Chelsea Hayes, and Neil Watson; and the two great grandchildren are Mykah and Ethan. He is also survived by sisters, Johnnie and Martha of Gause and Helen of Cameron, and brothers, Bill and wife Mary Beth of Groesbeck and Opie of Gause; nieces and nephews; and a host of family and friends.