John Love Owen, Sr.

John Love Owen Sr, resident of Raleigh N.C., passed away on December 15, 2022, at Wake

Medical Center at the age of 77, surrounded by family and friends.

John was preceded in death by his parents William Forest Owen and Ethylene Cooper Owen of

Roseboro, N.C., and his siblings Robert (Bobby) Owen and William (Billy) Owen. He is survived

by his loving wife Ruth Hagwood Owen, his siblings Edna Lou Welch and Jack Owen; children

John Love Owen Jr. (Lily) and Sandra Blake (Randy); stepchildren Lisa Brown (Les) and Steven

Godwin; grandchildren Benjamin Owen, Nick Owen, Brandon Blake (Allison), Zachary Blake

(Destini), Corbin Brown, and Tiffany Clifton (Zach); and his great grandchildren Logan Blake,

Gracelynn Blake, Ashlynn Pope, and Joseph Clifton.

The youngest of 5 children, John was born on February 23, 1945, and grew up on a farm in

Roseboro, N.C. John graduated from Roseboro/Salemburg High School in1963. In 1965 he

graduated from Fayetteville Community College with an associates degree in Electrical

Engineering. In 1966 John moved to Cary, N.C. and began working for IBM as an electrical

engineer, and he also joined YRAC (Cary spelled backwards) Volunteer Fire Department as a

volunteer. In 1971 a terrible accident occurred in Cary, N.C. resulting in the death of a small

child. John, and other firemen, believed it was possibly due to the 45 minutes it took for the

ambulance to arrive. This incident drove John Owen and Jerry Adams to create The Cary Area

Rescue Squad. John spent 10 plus years volunteering at the rescue squad, with 9 of those years

serving as Chief. Using his engineering abilities, he designed and built the first Command Post

vehicle for Wake County EMS, which was utilized in numerous events and operations all over

the county. John saved lives and delivered them as well. He continued to work for IBM for over

30 years and in that time, he was a part of the team that engineered, built, and perfected the

IBM Barcode Scanner, which is used in numerous stores today. After retiring from IBM, John,

and his friend & neighbor, created an electrical business (FORCE ELECTRIC) which operated for

5 years. He continued to practice his passion of electrical engineering and formed his own

company, Electrical and Security Associates Incorporated, which he practiced for the remainder

of his life. In 1993 John married Ruth and they settled on the outskirts of southeast Raleigh.

John absolutely loved his family, and friends. He was a true man of his word; he attended every

baseball, softball, football (you name it) game / competition involving with his children &

grandchildren, and occasionally he enjoyed fighting with the umpires. John would do anything

for anybody. He will be missed by many.

The family will receive friends on Sunday evening (December 18 th) from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at

Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, in Garner N.C. The funeral service will be held the following day,

Monday (December 19 th ), at 1:00pm at the same location with the burial to follow at Montlawn

Memorial Park on Wilmington St, Raleigh.