Ellen Owens, of Carmi, beloved mother and child of God left this life Monday morning, March 25, 2024. She was born April 14, 1934, the daughter of Howard and Bessie (Sheraden) Mosberger. Ellen was born and grew up in Grayville, IL. She was an avid bowler and loved playing softball and basketball. She could be seen well into her 70s taking her basketball down to Eckerle Park to shoot hoops. She worked hard her entire life, starting at the age of 13 mowing lawns to help her widowed mother support six children. At the age of sixteen, she became a nurse’s aide and found the calling of her life. She was a nurse’s aide in Sumner, IL, Baldwin Nursing Home in Grayville and Wabash Christian Village in Carmi. She taught her children by example to care for the elderly and took them with her to check in on elderly friends and neighbors in the community. She was never one to be idle and it has been said that the ‘s’ in Owens stood for stubborn – a trait that served her well, as did her compassion for others.
She is survived by two daughters Dixie Hale of St. Charles, MO, and Valinda Rowe of Enfield; two grandsons Tom Hale and Philip Hale, one granddaughter Christa Hale, and all their families. Ellen was preceded in death by her husband Merl E. Owens, her son Glen McTaggart, sisters Etta Ruth Fechter, Norma Jean Swingle, twin Helen Wickland, Betty Lou Hays, and her brother James Mosberger and their families.
Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday at 2 p.m., March 27th at Oak Grove Cemetery in Grayville. Friends and family are invited to gather at the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Pets At Risk in Carmi.
Cook Funeral Chapel in Grayville, Illinois, is in charge of arrangements.