John Owens
John Peck (Jack) Owens, MD, died tragically and unexpectedly at his home in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Jan. 29, 2023.
He lived 80 remarkable years, constantly creating adventures and challenges which he overcame with gusto. He was born in Malad, Idaho, on Sept. 30, 1942, and grew up in Ogden, Utah. He excelled in academics and athletics, as well as music. He earned a college scholarship for baseball (catcher) and football and was a dedicated student in school.
The West was a treasured home where he embraced the mountains … climbing, skiing, snowboarding and hiking. A gifted athlete, he continued these sports well into later life, adding ice hockey, scuba-diving and underwater photography, cycling, surfing, water skiing and flying. There was almost nothing he wouldn’t try.
Flying was his special joy, and throughout his career as a pediatric cardiologist, he put it to good use, basing his practice in San Jose, Calif., and flying to outlying clinics such as Modesto when patients could not get to him.
He married his first wife, Susan (Watkins), in l966-l985, and they embarked on a 10-year odyssey to complete his medical training with internships and residencies. It was a journey that they and their three children greatly enjoyed because of the cities they experienced: Salt Lake City, Utah, Chapel Hill, N.C., Rouses Point, N.Y., and Boston, Mass., where the final leg of the journey ended with degrees from Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard). In l976, they made the final move to San Jose, Calif.
Typical of Jack, he found working in a clinic for/with other doctors too restricting, so he opened his own private pediatric cardiology clinic. At first, he was told it couldn’t be done … not enough patients in this tiny specialty. But a creative and determined man, he took a risk and built it into a thriving practice for many years.
In 1982, Jack and Susan relocated the family to the coastal surf town of Santa Cruz, Calif., a place where Jack had visited family in his youth. Santa Cruz made a deep impression on him. He loved the ocean, nature, good coffee and laid-back culture. After he sold his clinic, he continued to practice pediatric and adult cardiology in California, Washington and Idaho.
He married Dauray (Tannahill) in 1996-2007 and they had three more children. The family relocated to the mountains, in the small town of Sandpoint, Idaho. He loved his profession and had been very happy recently practicing at St. Alphonsus Heart Institute in Nampa, Idaho, where he inspired others and was welcomed by the wonderful staff.
Jack was an outstanding doctor and loved working with children. There was magic in his presence, calming down nervous young mothers and crying babies. He was much beloved and respected by his patients and colleagues. He was also an enthusiastic father who loved to camp, bike and explore with his children. He infused in them a love of life, an incredible work ethic and an enduring legacy: be loyal to family, aim high and go for life with all you’ve got.
He is survived by his six children, Christine Owens Padilla (Ronnie), Brooke Owens Dufek (Michael), Emily Owens, Evan Owens, Jacqueline Owens, and Luke Owens; five grandchildren, Madison Dufek, John Dufek, Isabella Dufek, Sasha Padilla, and Fiona Padilla; a brother, Don Owens, many other loving family members, and special friends Patricia Dye of Troy, Mont., Jen Burns of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the community at Nampa Heart Institute of Nampa, Idaho.
Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling arrangements. Please visit Jack’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign his guestbook.