Larry Owens

Larry Owens, 72, of Creston died Thursday, April 5, 2018, at Greater Regional Hospice Home in Creston.

Celebration of life services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 10, at Pearson Family Funeral Service and Cremation Center, 809 W. Montgomery St., in Creston. The Rev. Mary O'Riley will officiate. Open visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 9, with family present from 5 to 7 p.m. Interment will be 12:30 p.m. in Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel. Military honors will be provided by Iowa National Guard and VFW Post No. 1797 of Creston. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Theodore J. Martens V.F.W. Post No. 1797, CancerSupportMinistry.org at Crest Baptist Church or Greater Regional Hospice Home. Online condolences may be left at www.pearsonfuneralhomes.com.

Larry, son of Francis and Della Owens, was born March 27, 1946, in Trenton, Nebraska. Their family moved with the Burlington Northern Railroad, as his father was a roadmaster, maintaining track. Larry graduated from McCook High School in McCook, Nebraska, in 1964. He attended McCook Junior College, until he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966. Larry served in Germany, and then a tour in Vietnam from June 1967 to June 1968. He served in United States Army Republic of Vietnam, which was a corps-level support command center in Long Binh, and participated in staving off the Tet Offensive. When he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1969, he went to work for the Colorado and Southern Railroad in the engineering department in Denver, Colorado.

On Nov. 27, 1970, he married Janis Anderson in Denver. Larry went to night school and obtained his electronics technician certification, while working in the railroad engineering office. They continued the railroad tradition of moving 11 times in 14 years, which included Superior, Wisconsin; McCook, Crawford and Alliance, Nebraska; Ft. Worth, Texas; Springfield, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; and then landed in Creston in 1989. Larry worked for the signal division, installing and then maintaining signals for traffic control. He changed to operations, and served as trainmaster in Creston until his retirement in 2001.

​Larry was a member of Crestmoor Golf Club, Elks Club and VFW.

Larry is survived by his wife Janis of 47 years; sons, Ethan (Dana and children, Evelyn and Jeanie) Owens of Waukee and Eric (Kylie and children Katelyn and Thomas) Owens of Leawood, Kansas; daughter Leanne (Russ and children Addie, Eva and Graham) Smith of Norwalk; brothers, Doug (Lana) Owens of Austin, Minnesota, and Don (Roxann) Owens of Indianola, Nebraska; sister Karen (Ben) Mortimore of Scottsbluff, Nebraska; sister-in-law Joanne Owens of Bullhead City, Arizona; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Marlys (Anderson) and Steve Kerton of Monument, Colorado; along with many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Dale and Verl Owens; sister Neva (Owens) Townsley and brother-in-law Ray Townsley.