Christ Prayer Line pastor
The Rev. Richard L. Owens, a pastor in St. Louis dedicated to feeding the poor, died Oct. 10, 2007 at Jefferson Barracks Veterans Administration Medical Center. He was 84 and lived in St. Louis.
The Rev. Owens founded Christ Prayer Line Assembly Holiness Pentecostal Church on Minerva Street in St. Louis in the late 1970s. He served the congregation for about 30 years.
Owens was the driving force behind the church’s role in helping the community and established several outreach ministries to feed and clothe the poor. One of his most successful ministries was the Helping Hands food pantry, which gave food to hundreds every year. He personally delivered food and clothing to the needy.
A talented singer, Owens was a member of the Victory Aires gospel quartet in the 1960s. He was featured in a family recording of “I’m Not the Same Man” and “God Got a Man” in the 1970s.
Born in Betonia, Miss., Owens served in the Army in World War II. He retired from International Trucking Co. in St. Louis in 1985.
Among survivors are his wife, Effie Owens of St. Louis; 14 daughters: Anna Marie Austin, Catherine Thigpen, Darlene Moore, Denise Owens, Pamela Harris, Jennifer Morgan, Vera Sutton, Janice Townsend and Jessie Owens, all of St. Louis, Bertha Mitchelle of Jefferson City, Mo., Sandra Smoot of Cape Girardeau, Mo., Gladra Owens of Kathy, Texas, Greta Matthews of Carbondale, Ill., and Pamela Holloway of Bellwood, Ill.; six sons, Richard L. Owens III, Demetrius Owens, Errick Owens and Gilliuet Owens, all of St. Louis, Henry Owens of Gulfport, Miss., and Ricky Owens of Indiana; his mother, Alberta Owens of Chicago; six brothers, Robert Owens of St. Louis, Roosevelt Owens of Cleveland, Ohio, Tommie Owens of Hamlet, N.C., and Fred Owens, Melvin Owens and Herbert A. Owens, all of Chicago; seven sisters, Dorothy McGee, Willie Bea Veil, Lizzie Nelson, Ernestine Vassar, Doris Jean Johnson and Maxine Owens, all of Chicago, and Diane Grisby of Greenville, Miss.; 50 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Prayer Line Assembly Holiness Pentecostal Church, 5740 Minerva, St. Louis, Mo. 63112.