Posted on Wed, Jan 25, 2012
“In Memoriam” was created to honor the memory of our dear friend and church member, Carla Anne Owens. Carla was the first to form the Communications Ministry of Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church. Thus, the Wayman website was born. While Carla was with us at Wayman, she spearheaded this effort and kept Wayman connected to the world around us. As we take over this endeavor, we pray that Carla will be pleased with our work and know that she will always remain a source of inspiration for us.
From the entire Wayman family, we honor you Carla, and we love you forever. To God Be The Glory!
Please take the time to read Carla’s obituary that was graciously sent to us by her beloved sister, Karen.
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Carla Anne Owens chose Chester C. Owens, Jr. and Lillie Anne Yates Owens for her parents on May 18, 1963. She was born at the old Douglass Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. Carla accepted Christ at an early age, and she was baptized at First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Kansas City, Kansas, where she participated in many youth activities and auxiliaries. She later united with Christ Our Redeemer A.M.E. Church in Grandview, Missouri and Wayman A.M.E. Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Carla loved the Lord.
Carla received an excellent educational foundation beginning at Hawthorne Elementary and Our Lady and Saint Rose Catholic School, where she continued to develop under the fine instruction of dedicated teachers, such as Sister Mary Eugenia Floerish, Fay Gooden, and Dr. Deloris Grigsby Pinkard. She attended Northwest Junior High School and graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1981. After graduation, Carla enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she graduated Cum Laude in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science / Business Administration and a Master of Public Affairs degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the Hauptmann School of Public Affairs at Park University in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as attending the University of Kansas School of Law.
Carla had an extensive career beginning at Hallmark Cards, Inc., where she worked as a Product Forecast Analyst. Later, she was hired by the State of Missouri as the Director of Equal Opportunity / Office of Administration, and then became the Director of Constituent Services / Senior Staff Member in the Office of the Governor. Shortly thereafter, she was appointed Assistant Director at the Department of Social Services. She then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and was hired as Program Director of Executive Programs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. For ten years, she was Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. In 2011, she relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to Dallas, Texas, and she became Vice President of Community Relations, Big Brothers / Big Sisters Lone Star, in Dallas, Texas.
Carla was civic minded; served on several boards and commissions and received many honors and distinguished awards. She was a humble woman; an avid reader; and she enjoyed music and the arts. Carla became a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Eta Kappa Chapter, at Spelman College in 1984, and she believed in and demonstrated the importance of public service to humankind everywhere. She was politically savvy and possessed a sharp sense of awareness regarding current events. She loved to engage in, dialogue with, and challenge her friends and contemporaries in discussions related to political and social issues.
Carla had deep passion for young people, particularly, those who had “aged out of care,” and she served as a mentor to many. Her unselfish spirit and commitment to “making a positive impact” in the life of a young person became her mantra, and she left an indelible mark in the lives of many, probably in ways she never knew. However, receiving accolades for her life’s mission was of no concern to her. She realized her life purpose; her God-given gifts, and she worked in them, even up to the final moments of her earthly life. Carla never gave up on things she believed in and had passion for. She was computer savvy, witty, humorous, a deep thinker, a great listener, and she was deeply committed to her family and friends, particularly her two nephews, who were like her own sons, Larry (a.k.a. “Punch”) and Kaleb.
She leaves to forever cherish her memory her loving and devoted parents, Chester C. Owens, Jr. and Lillie Anne Yates Owens of Kansas City, Kansas; her sisters, Dr. Cynthia Owens Harris and brother-in-law, Leo Harris of Tallahassee, Florida; and Karen Lenora Owens of Charlotte, North Carolina; her maternal grandmother, Margaret Walstean Yates; two nephews, Larry Dean Jones, II and Kaleb Charles Jones; five uncles: Rev. Jimmie L. Banks, Noah Kirkwood, William D. Owens, Melvin Pilson, and John Yates, III; nine aunts: Alice Banks, Frances Haywood, Virginia Kirkwood, Alta Owens, Elaine Owens, Euellen Owens, Sandra Owens, Colleen Pilson, and Faye Yates; six foster brothers, Albert Brand, Alfred Brand, Leander Brand, Arthur Brand, Eugene Brand and Michael Brand; her surrogate daughters, Raquel Tolston and Krystel Reid; her dear and close-knit cousins; her best friend since childhood, TajSheena Ross Harrison; a host of acquaintances, very close friends and admirers, literally, all over the world,. She will be missed on this side of Heaven, but, the angels rejoice in her homecoming, for she is now safe and secure in the arms of Jesus.
May she rest in sweet, sweet peace.
