Wendell Owens, Naval systems specialist, 83
Owens grew up in South Phildelphia, but was at home in the world
WENDELL OWENS, who grew up in South Philadelphia and later worked at the Philadelphia Naval Base, died on Sunday, Feb. 28.
He was 83 and lived in the city's Art Museum area.
At Edward W. Bok Technical High School, Owens excelled in gymnastics and track. He graduated in 1950.
He was drafted into the Army at age 19 and served during the Korean War, said his widow, Sandra Jean Lee-Viddy Owens.
After the Army, Owens went to work as a machinist at the Naval Base. He later was promoted to senior quality assurance specialist at the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station.
His work involved designing and planning submarines and dealing with private contractors.
"I remember one weekend, he got a call at home because there was a problem with one of the submarines," his wife recalled.
"Time was of the essence, because the submarine was underwater, and something wasn't functioning."
She said that whoever on the phone was asking him questions, and that he'd answer, " 'Did you try this?' and 'Did you try that?'
"He loved that job," Sandra Owens said. "I was always impressed with his skills, his mathematical skills. He was an original."
Owens loved jazz and he loved cars. When he was a young man living in South Philly, he once took an engine out of a car and worked on it for a whole year, Sandra Owens said.
One of his favorite watering holes in the city was Dirty Frank's Bar on 13th Street at Pine.
She said he also liked to tell stories about growing up in South Philly. "He used to take his red wagon with his mother to the [Ninth Street] Market, and they'd load it with purchases and bring it back home.
"He had a lot of stories about South Philly. He was charming. He had that South Philly confidence about him," Sandra Owens said.
She and Owens also loved to travel and spent many summer vacations at a vacation home in the Moorish village of Mucifal, in Portugal.
Owens' first wife, Margaret Louise Smith, died years ago. He had six children from his first marriage.
He is survived by three sons, Glen, James, and Michael. He was predeceased by his other three children, Steven, Wendell Jr., and Tina.
Also surviving are his older brother, Thaddeus; and two stepdaughters, Laura Viddy Darga and Rachel Viddy; and several grandchildren, stepgrandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
A private memorial is being planned.
215-854-5987 @ValerieRussDN