Michael “Mike” Stuart Owen, died Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at his Potlatch, Idaho, home.
Mike was born Aug. 5, 1943, in Everett, Wash., the son of Genevieve (Winkle) and Stuart Owen. He grew up in the Victory Heights neighborhood in Seattle, attended Pinehurst Elementary, Jane Addams Junior High School and Ingraham High School. While at Ingraham High School, Mike was student body president and made it to State in track and field (shot put). In 1966, Mike graduated from Whitman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. In 1965, he married Linda (Reyes) and in 1966, they spent two years with the Peace Corps in Colombia, where Mike worked as an agricultural extensionist.
After the Peace Corps, Mike and Linda made Seattle their home. Mike was accepted at the University of Washington in the Master of Architecture program and graduated in 1970. In 1969, Benjamin Camilo was born and, in 1970, Christopher Mateo was born. From 1971-76, they lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, while Mike practiced as an architect.
In 1976, the family moved back to Seattle, to the same Victory Heights neighborhood Mike grew up in. Mike worked for Kramer, Chin and Mayo, a private architectural-engineering firm, then for the King County Building and Planning Department in the Architectural Division. The work he was proudest of included a facility for children with special needs, a Coast Guard project in Kodiak, Alaska, a Coast Guard project at Governor’s Island outside of New York City and work on the Kingdome in Seattle.
In 1983, Mike and Linda planned a travel sabbatical to return to their Peace Corps site in Colombia with Ben and Chris. They left Seattle, headed south by road in an old International Harvester Travelall during 1983-84. Although they were not able to make it all the way to Colombia, they decided to travel throughout Mexico — it was a fabulous journey which gave the whole family glorious memories.
In 1984, Mike took a position with Washington State University in Pullman, where he taught architecture with specialties in planning, architectural and urban design and construction. During his tenure at Washington State University, he received two sabbatical leaves, the first of which involved researching migrant worker housing, following the route from Mexico to the Yakima Valley. In 2001, he was named a Fulbright Scholar and spent a year teaching in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, at CEDAC (Center for Design, Architecture and Building). In 1991, Mike received funding to study/research “winter cities” along the 60th parallel, which took him around the world, including crossing Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
A lifelong lover of travel, he wanted his students to experience some of the magic and took several groups of students to England for a spring semester abroad. During Mike’s time teaching at WSU, he regularly played pick-up basketball games during his lunch breaks and enjoyed socializing with friends at Rico’s Pub in downtown Pullman. His Rico’s friends were very special to him.
In 1995, Mike married Alice Spitzer and they occupied their spare time in the next 10 years building a small house that Mike designed in the wheat fields outside Potlatch. Mike’s brother, Steve; Alice’s brother, Hank; Mike’s older son, Ben; and several friends helped build and complete the house. Mike retired from WSU in 2006, and the couple spent their summers in Idaho and their winters in various cities in the U.S. and Europe (London, Bologna, Ft. Worth, Amsterdam, Portland, Ore., Seville and Siena).
Mike is survived by his wife, Alice Spitzer; brother Steve (Linda) Owen, of Vaughn, Wash.; sons Ben Owen, of Oceanside, Calif., and Chris (Sarah) Owen, of Walla Walla; grandchildren Shaina, Nicholas, Jackson, Peter and Astrid; and great-granddaughter Liliana. Mike had several nieces and a nephew, which include Jodi, Julie, Jesse, Elizabeth and Rosemary. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Suzanne Armstrong.
A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Those wishing to honor Mike might consider a donation to the Potlatch EMS, 435 Pine St., Potlatch, ID 83855, or to College Possible Oregon, 532 SE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97214.
