Theodore R. Owen

Our father, Theodore Ralph Owen, passed away on 7-4-2018 at 6:45 p.m. surrounded by his family after battling cancer. Ted fought valiantly to survive. His love for the ocean and adventure will forever be shared by his four children: Art Tolis and his wife, Heather of Fountain Hills; Beth Owen-Mishou of Newington, Conn. and her husband, Roy Mishou; Cheryl Dowd and her husband, Dennis of Berlin, Conn.; and Theodore Owen, Jr., of Old Saybrook, Conn., and his domestic partner, Amy Carocci; and Ted’s longtime life companion, Robin Austin of Westbrook, Conn. Ted has 11 grandchildren who will miss his sense of humor, inexhaustible energy and frank honesty.

Ted was born Jan. 3, 1940, in Nanticoke, Pa. He was one of 10 children. He was predeceased by his brothers, Charles, Robert and Russell (and Russell’s other triplets Raymond and a baby girl, who passed at birth) and his sister, Marion.

He is survived by his sisters, Shirley Lamoreaux of Bloomsburg, Pa.; Ethel Litwhiler of Benton, Pa.; and Dorothy Fritz of Benton, Pa.

At the age of eight, Ted’s father, Charles Owen passed and he entered foster care with Lois and Marlin Dietterick of Bloomsburg, Pa. He remained in their loving care until he entered the Navy, at the age of 17 in 1957. He served in the Navy for six years as a Radioman 3rd class in the submarine service. While in the military, he served during the “Bay of Pigs” on the USS Trench.

Ted had a brilliant intellect and had a long career with IBM as a computer engineer and innovator until he retired, after more than 35 years. While with IBM he held multiple patents for his design of computer components. In his retirement he enjoyed traveling between Arizona and Connecticut and spending his summers on the Long Island Sound with his many friends at the marina.

The Celebration of Life gathering was at the Clinton Yacht Club, Club House, Clinton, Conn. and memorial service and military burial were held at the Middletown State Veterans Cemetery, 317 Bow Lane Middletown, Conn. at 9 a.m. on Monday, July 9, 2018.

Ted made many friends in Fountain Hills over the last eight years when he spent the winter months in town.