He would ask your name, where are you from, “and on and on, and on and on,” Marsh said. Jim’s good friend Michael Marsh gave an example of how caring and genuine Jim was with everyone he met. Sound familiar? Who can say that’s an unfamiliar notion for most mortals? His mom, dad, brother and sister have died, leaving Jim as the remaining Owen, and it seemed as though he wanted his life to be known. He was the same with local events - often attending ribbon cuttings and business openings, somehow appearing in the media photos. He would sometimes make the first or second motion just to ensure his name was documented. He then joked about how Jim would check to see if he was in the minutes. “I cannot remember him saying anything negative.” “He didn’t always say a lot, but when he did speak, it was positive,” Saile said. When he began his talk, Saile admitted that he first found Jim Owen “a little quirky.” He wasn’t quite sure how to take the man that had volunteered to be part of an important committee. You don’t have to be perfect, but you can be positive There were a dozen in 90 minutes, Saile said with a hint of astonishment. While visiting Jim in the hospital one day, Vern logged friends who stopped by while Jim had nodded off. He may have more friends than anybody I’ve ever known.” “He appreciated family, friends, students, and community. “He loved people, he loved to encourage them,” Saile said. Those weren’t just phrases from a motivational book they were how Jim Owen lived his life. Instead of thinking about how he transformed the world, Jim thought about how others made an impact on him. ![]() “But Jim’s obituary is almost entirely about the people he wants to thank,” Saile said in a near-packed sanctuary at Northgate Church. Usually, one’s obit states everything about that person, Saile said. Vern Saile noted something about Jim’s obituary. He always gave his time.ĭuring Owen's funeral service Saturday, the Rev. Yes, he gave the community quite a lot - financial and material donations, camaraderie, encouraging words, bits of history culled from his research, recognition, cheesy jokes that somehow always hit the mark, friendship, and, certainly, time. This piece isn’t so much about Jim as it is about what he created up until he died on Jan. Or when he donated funds to make the Owen library at GO Art! a reality. Or perhaps you read about him being dubbed the Mayor of Redfield Parkway by Batavia City Council for his efforts to have pillars restored on the westside street, and tireless advocacy for the neighborhood and beyond. ![]() Perhaps you’ve read about Jim recently, about his passion for the city school district as a substitute teacher, supporter, mentor, historian, and music lover who lived long enough to see the high school auditorium named after his father, Frank E. And you especially didn’t have to know him to reap some of the good and kind messages that he left behind.īut if you didn’t know Jim Owen, a Batavia resident whose name has been echoed throughout the city with particular might this past year, it truly was a loss that you never had the privilege to feel. You didn’t have to know him to respect the man he was and what he brought to this community. ![]() You didn’t have to know Jim Owen to want to be like him.
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