O. Keith Owen Jr.
Nov. 24, 1917 to Nov. 19, 2008
Orlando Keith Owen Jr., of Terre Haute, passed away surrounded by loved ones in
Sarasota, Fla.
Keith was born in Terre Haute, the only son of Ruth Davis Owen and Orlando Keith Owen.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Rebecca T. Thomas; and two sisters, Molly and Dorothy.
He was retired as chairman of Spence/Banks Oil Company.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Jo Ann Hollingsworth Owen;
four children,
O. Keith Owen III and his wife Sheila of Houston,
Rodger A. Owen and his wife Janet of Chicago,
James D. Owen and his wife Susan of Terre Haute,
and Bill Tipton and his wife Candi of Nokomis, Fla.;
four grandchildren,
O. Keith Owen IV, Eric Thomas, Stacy Thomas and Seth Tipton; three great-grandchildren;
and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
He attended Indiana State Normal School and graduated from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ill., where he received a bachelor of science
degree in business administration. While at the university, he was a member of
the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and was a member of the university golf team.
After college graduation, Keith went to work in the family business, the J.W.
Davis Company.
Employing more than 500 workers and claiming 33 acres of glass hothouses, Davis Gardens, located on South Seventh Street, was the largest hothouse grower of vegetables in the world and shipped products coast to coast.
At the onset of World War II, Keith enlisted in the U.S. Navy, even though he was
exempt due to his work in a critical industry. After receiving his commission
with a specialty in communications, he served his time in military service in
the South Pacific.
After VJ Day, with the country again at peace, Keith committed himself to his
career and also to the Terre Haute community. He served as president of J.W.
Davis Company and DAO Corporation, a horticultural supply and equipment company.
He also served as director of the Merchants National Bank (Old National Bank)
and Wabash Federal Savings and Loan Association, president of Chauncy Rose Home
Board, director of Union Hospital, chairman and director of Wabash Valley
American Red Cross, chairman and director of Community Blood Bank, president and
director of the Tax Payers Association of Vigo County, president of Clara
Fairbanks Foundation and a member of the Board of Associates of Rose Polytechnic
Institute (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology).
Other business association memberships include: president and director of
Indiana Vegetable Growers Association, first vice-president of Vegetable Growers
of America, director of Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and president of the
Country Club of Terre Haute. Like his father, Keith was politically active in
the affairs of the Republican Party as fund raiser and served as a state
delegate of the G.O.P. Conventions.
