OBITUARY: AVIS ANNE OWENS Avis Anne Owens, 73, of Rt. #1, Moatsville, Valley Furnace Community, died Thursday, December 22, at her home following an unexpected illness. She was born December 2, 1938, at Philippi, a daughter of the late Arthur Wellington and Eva Mae (Murphy O’Neal) Poling. On May 13, 1955, she was married to Thomas William Owens, who survives at their home. Also surviving are three children, Patricia Anne Mahon and husband, Roy, Fredericksburg, Va., William Douglas Owens, Fredericksburg, Va., Thomas Ward Owens, Moatsville; three grandchildren, Cara E. Brown and husband, Derek E. Brown, Ryan Thomas Owens and Katherine E. Owens, all of Fredericksburg; two great grandchildren, Levi R. Brown and Kaia N. Brown, both of Fredericksburg; and a sister-in-law, Leota O’Neal, Moatsville. She was also preceded in death by a half-brother, Harry J. O’Neal Jr. Mrs. Owens was a 1955 graduate of Kasson High School and attended Alderson – Broaddus College, studying voice and piano. She had spent most of her adult life giving voice and piano lessons. She was a member of the New Hope Valley United Methodist Church and formerly attended the Shiloh Church of the Brethren. She was a member of the Community Choir and the Gospel Four and the Family Ties quartets. Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday, December 28, from the Stemple & Forman Funeral Home, 385 So. Main Street, Philippi. The Rev. Larry Poling will officiate and interment will follow in the Mt. Castle Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5:00 until 9:00 P.M. on Tuesday and from 9:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M., the funeral hour, on Wednesday.
