Obituary of DAVID LEE OWEN

Dave Owen passed away at the age of 63 on Friday, March 29, after a battle with cancer. He was born the oldest of three children in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Kemp and Frances Owen. They moved to Santa Cruz, California, in January of 1960. Dave attended Scott's Valley Elementary and Baymonte Middle School, and he graduated from Baymonte High School in 1974. In 1978 he graduated cum laude from Biola University with a degree in history. While there he met his wife, Joyce, with whom he had three wonderful and gifted children, Matthew, Michael, and Melissa. After teaching at Baymonte High School, Dave and Joyce became missionaries with Liebenzell Mission USA. In 1984 Dave and his family moved to the island nation of Palau to teach at Emmaus High School. He taught history, Bible, and P.E., and organized and coached in the school's sports program, even leading his basketball team to the championship. While at Emmaus, Dave received a call to teach at Pacific Islands Bible College (PIBC) in Guam. To prepare for this new teaching assignment Dave attended Dallas Theological Seminary and graduated with high honors in 1992. Dave moved to Guam in 1993 as a teacher and the Dean of Students at PIBC and as the head pastor of Yigo Baptist Church. In 1991 he became the Area Field Director for Liebenzell Mission Micronesia. In 2003 he became the President of PIBC, in which capacity he brought the school through the accreditation process and transformed PIBC into Pacific Islands University. In 2006 he earned his doctorate from Trinity Divinity School. His was a life well lived. Dave loved and was loved by God, his family, his co-workers and his students. He worked his entire life using his head, heart, and hands to make the world a better place than he found it. He is survived by both his parents, his wife, his three children and their spouses, eight grandchildren, his two siblings, and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service in celebration of Dave's life will be held at Gold Country Baptist Church on Saturday, April 6, at 3pm. Donations in his honor can be made to the place where he lived, worked, and loved, Pacific Islands University: https://piu.edu/welcome-to-the-piu-donation-page.