Roy F. Owens, 78, of 703 Lakehurst Drive, passed away on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at

Grace Hospital in Morganton.

He is the son of the late Rubin J. and Essie Mae Stewart Owens. He is also preceded in death by two brothers, Bobby Owens and Gerald Owens; and two sisters, Betty Anderson and Edith Lewis.

Mr. Owens worked for twenty-one years at Jenkins Metal Corporation in< ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /> Gastonia as a fabricator and installer. He loved playing golf and baseball and loved to watch TV – especially westerns and NASCAR.

Mr. Owens is survived by his wife of 55 years Peggy Lyle Owens; four children, Wanda McGinnis of Shelby; Wade Owens and wife, Pearl, of Fallston; Wendy Pruett and husband, Steve, of New House; William Owens of Lawndale; two brothers, Wallace and wife, Linda, of Washington state, Glenn Owens and wife, Stella, of Alabama; grandchildren, Wade Owens, Jr. and wife, Angela, Tabatha Davis and husband, Charles, Joseph Owens, Ginalyn Brown and husband, Ben, Wesley Owens and wife, also Alexandria Owens, Samantha Owens, Zackery Owens; and eleven great grandchildren.

Visitation: The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home and Crematory.

    Celebration of life service: Friday, 3 p.m., at Hoyle Memorial United Methodist Church

    Officiated By:Rev. Ann Duncan

    Burial: RoseHill Memorial Park with full military rites

    Funeral Home:Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family of Mr. Owens.

    Memorials:Hoyle Memorial United Methodist Church, 1741 Fallston Road, Shelby, NC 28150.