Frances C. Owens

        Frances Jean Clendening Owens, 77, of Stephens City, Virginia, formerly of Charles Town, West Virginia, went to be with the Lord, Sunday, June 1, 2014, surrounded by family and friends under the loving and amazing care of Blue Ridge Hospice Residential Care Center, Winchester, Virginia.

Mrs. Owens was born in 1936, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the daughter of the late Charles B. and Florence M. Clendening, Jr.  She was a graduate of Charles Town High School and attended Shepherd College and Berkeley County School of Nursing.  Mrs. Owens was employed at Westminster-Canterbury as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), retiring in 2005. She continued her compassionate work as a private duty sitter until her long struggle with cancer ended.

She was a lifelong resident of Jefferson County and was a very faithful and active member of Zion Episcopal Church, later becoming a member of St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Frederick County, Virginia.

Frances waged a courageous and determined 16 year struggle with the terrible and vicious killer known as cancer… and despite limitless courage, boundless faith and the very best care, eventually she could fight no more and joined family, friends and her beloved dogs in heaven.

She married Floyd P. Owens, Jr. on August 10, 1959, in Winchester, Virginia.  He preceded her in death on May 24, 2012.

Surviving are two sons, Floyd P. Owens, III of Ranson, West Virginia, Mark F. Owens of Inwood, West Virginia; two granddaughters, Ashley Gulina and husband, Mark, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, Emily Owens of Inwood, West Virginia; and brother, Donald W. Clendening and wife, Alice, of Charles Town, West Virginia.

Four brothers, Charles B. Clendening III, John A. Clendening, Paul B. Clendening, James R. Clendening and one sister, Helen E. Clendening, preceded her in death.

A memorial service will be conducted at 1:00 PM on Monday, June 16, 2014 at St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Church, Frederick County, Virginia.  Interment will be in Shenandoah Memorial Park, Frederick County, Virginia.

Memorial contributions may be made to Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 West Cork Street, Suite 405, Winchester, Virginia, 22601 or Frederick County Esther Boyd Animal Shelter, 161 Fort Collier Road, Winchester, Virginia, 22603.