Harry D. Owens

Harry D. Owens, age 86, of Dover, died Thursday, Apr. 19, 2012, following a long battle with cancer.

He was born Apr. 1, 1926, in New Philadelphia, where his parents, James and Goldie Bower Owens, owned a grocery store. When Harry was twelve, the family moved to a farm near the village of Tuscarawas Harry recalled boyhood days playing on the State dam across the Tuscarawas River. He graduated from Tuscarawas-Warwick High School and entered the U.S. Merchant Marines toward the end of the Second World War. Following his discharge, Harry married the former Norma Jean Schwab on Aug. 24, 1947, in the parsonage of Sharon Moravian Church, near Tuscarawas.

In 1954, he purchased a 154-acre farm on Deis Hill Road outside of Dover, where he set about raising chickens. Chicken farming proved to be unprofitable, and Harry switched to dairy cows. He began selling farm machinery as a hobby in 1962, and it gradually turned into a full-time venture, becoming known as Owens Implement. Harry and Norma Jean worked long hours, side-by-side, putting nearly everything they made back into the business.

He began exhibiting machinery at the Tuscarawas County Fair in 1966, and found it to be both enjoyable and good business. The couple became fixtures at the fair thereafter. Harry and Norma Jean would sleep in a camper at the fairgrounds all week visiting with friends and taking in the horse races, which they especially enjoyed. Harry and Norma Jean retired from the day-to-day business in 1991.

Harry was a member of Ruslin Hills Church, Dover, and the Tuscarawas post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Among his favorite pastimes were camping and fishing, and relative to that, he belonged to the Tusco Traveleers and the Good Sam Club. Harry also liked to garden, growing zucchinis, cucumbers and onions.

Survivors include his loving wife Norma Jean; his daughter, Janet Lee (Jim) Galigher of New Philadelphia; his two sons, Jim (Chris) Owens and Bruce (Diana) Owens, both of Dover; his five grandchildren, Kevin (Macie) and Aaron (Summer) Galigher, Michael (Erika), Jason and Joe (fiance, Lisa Crites) Owens; his seven great-grandchildren, Keton, Kason, Kilee, Kyle, Zach, A.J. and Katelyn; and his faithful companion, Muffin.

In addition to his parents, Harry was preceded in death by an infant son, Jay Allen Owens, and a sister, Mildred Irene "Dutch" Nussdorfer.

Family and friends are invited to call at the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover, on Sunday, Apr. 22, 2 5 p.m. A funeral service, officiated by Pastor Duane L Houser, will be held Monday, Apr. 23, at 11:30 a.m. in the funeral home. Burial will be in Evergreen Burial Park, New Philadelphia. Following the committal, there will be a luncheon in the Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Harry, please visit the Obituaries & Flowers link on the funeral home's website.

The family suggests that contributions in Harry's memory be made to Ruslin Hills Church, 5839 Ruslin Hills Rd. N.W., Dover, OH 44622, or to the American Cancer Society, 525 N. Broad St., Canfield, OH 44406.