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Italia Ottaviano
Italia Ottaviano died following a brief illness Thursday, May 16, 2002, at age 94.
Born May 14, 1908, in Ischia, Italy, Mrs. Ottaviano was a resident of Falmouth, Mass. She came to the U.S. when she was an infant. She marriage in 1930 and lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Newburgh, N.Y., until retiring to Sandwich, Mass. in 1970.
Mrs. Ottaviano is survived by her daughter, Ann Reynolds and husband John of Woodland; son, Robert Ottaviano and wife Rita of Falmouth, Mass; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Armando Ottaviano, in 1990.
A graveside service was conducted Tuesday, May 21, at Sandwich Town Cemetery in Sandwich, Mass.
The family requests memorials be directed to the charity of the donor's choice.
OVERTON
William "Bill" Chappel Overton Jr.
William "Bill" Chappel Overton Jr. died on March 31, 2003. Born on Dec. 21, 1946, in South Carolina, he was 56 years old.
He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after serving in Vietnam from 1969 to 1973. He worked in agriculture for Air Growers Service and lived in Yolo County for more than 30 years. He attended UC Davis and enjoyed fishing.
He is survived by his father, William Overton Sr. of Florida, and sister, Aline Clement of Florida.
OWENS
Ivy Owens
Ivy Owens died at her daughter's home in Sacramento surrounded by family on Friday, Dec. 3, 2004. She was 84.
A celebration of her life will begin at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at the Green Room of the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts, 2791 24th St. in Sacramento.
Born April 24, 1920, in Roycroft, Alberta, Canada, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen after her marriage to Thurston B. Owens of Honaker, Va. She was a resident of Davis for 43 years.
Her family says she will be deeply missed and held dearly in their hearts forever.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thurston Owens, and by her son, Buford Leland.
She is survived by her daughters, Miriam Gray and her husband Edward Duffy of Sacramento; and Susie Owens and her partner Heidi Souza of Woodland; and a son, Wayne Owens of Middletown.
She is further survived by her sisters, Patricia Wheeler of Enumclau, Wash.; Grace Dittmer of Chahalis, Wash.; Marj Esteban of Corrolitas; and her brother, Peter Murray of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
Remembrances in her name may be made to the UC Davis Hospice Program, 3630 Business Drive, Sacramento, CA 95820.
OWENS
Leo Owens
Leo Owens passed away Aug. 10, 2004 in Woodland at the age of 81. He was born in Louisiana and retired in Dunnigan.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Katherine Owens, 5 sons, 6 daughters, 32 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren.
Also a sister in Louisiana and brother in Los Angeles.
A celebration of life will be conducted on his birthday, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2004 at 11:30 a.m. for friends and family at 2800 Rd. 88-B, Dunnigan.
OWENS
Louis Owens
Louis Owens, an internationally acclaimed novelist and a scholar of Steinbeck and Native American literature, died on July 26, 2002, in Albuquerque, N.M., at the age of 54.
He was born on July 18, 1948.
Considered the country's leading critical interpreter of Native American literature, Owens received several top book awards for his fiction and scholarly work, had his novels translated into other languages and most recently participated in a lengthy interview on national television about his Steinbeck scholarship during the centennial celebration of the Salinas Valley writer.
Owens was the author of five novels -- one of which, "Nightland, " won the American Book Award in 1997, four books of literary criticism and a new collection of essays, "I Hear the Train." His academic career spanned two decades and five universities. Most recently, he was a professor of English and Native American studies at UC Davis, and headed the campus's Creative Writing Program.
Born in Lompoc to migrant laborers, Owens spent his childhood moving between Mississippi and the Central Valley, picking beans and living in poverty.
Owens' first book, "John Steinbeck's Re-Vision of America, " was published in 1985, followed by "The Grapes of Wrath: Trouble in the Promised Land" in 1989. In May, he was the subject of a lengthy interview on C-Span regarding John Steinbeck and his literary legacy.
Owens earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in English from UC Santa Barbara before coming in 1978 to UC Davis for his doctorate. During graduate school, Owens and his wife spent a year in Pisa, Italy, while Owens taught at the University of Pisa as a Fulbright Lecturer.
Throughout his career, Owens was known for being extraordinarily prolific. Due to the number and quality of his publications, the time between his receiving his doctorate and being promoted to full professor at UC Santa Cruz was the shortest in the history of the University of California. Even in graduate school, while not working on his Steinbeck dissertation, Owens wrote his first novel, "Wolfsong."
It was through this first novel, published in 1991, that Owens explored his Choctaw and Cherokee roots.
Owens, who considered himself a mixed-blood American, explored the dilemmas of being from multiple heritages through much of his writing -- both in fiction and non-fiction. He won a Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year Award in 1998 for "Mixedblood Messages: Literature, Film, Family, Place."
He wrote many articles on Native American fiction before publishing his 1992 book, "Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel, " which by now has become required reading in many college literature classes. In 1993 he won the PEN-Josephine Miles Awards for "Other Destinies" and his novel, "The Sharpest Sight" (1992). He also was awarded with the Julian J. Rothbaum Prize for his 1992 novel "Bone Game" in 1994.
One of the awards he displayed proudly in his office was the 1995 Roman Noir Prize, a French award for the outstanding mystery novel published in French given to "The Sharpest Sight." His novels were translated into French, German and Japanese, and he appeared on French television more than once.
Extraordinarily generous with his time and attention to students, Owens was a dedicated teacher who mentored and encouraged his students and other writers.
Among the many recognitions for teaching that he received were the University of New Mexico Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence, the UCSC Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award, the UCSC Student Alumni Council Favorite Professor Award, and the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the International Steinbeck Society. He was a Presidential Lecturer at the University of New Mexico for two years.
From 1992 to 2000, Owens served on the faculty of UC Davis' Art of the Wild, a summer writing workshop on nature and the environment that drew nationally acclaimed writers. Owens was featured on a PBS one-hour special about the workshop.
Owens is survived by his wife of 27 years, Polly; and his daughters, Elizabeth, 19, and Alexandra, 16, all of Tijeras, N.M.; his father Hoey; his brothers Gene, Troy and Richard; and his sisters Judy, Linda, Juanita and Brenda.
A campus memorial service is being planned for fall quarter.
ELLSWORTH
Miriam Telford Ellsworth
Miriam Telford Ellsworth died at home in her sleep Oct. 26, 2004. She was 99.
A funeral will begin at 1 p.m. Monday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel, 6925 Havenhurst Drive in Sacramento.
Born on Valentine's Day 1905, in Lincoln, Idaho, she attended schools in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, Idaho, and universities in California, Idaho and North Dakota. She graduated from North Dakota in 1930 with a bachelor's degree in home economics and a minor in speech. She worked as a librarian and school teacher.
She marriage Heber Michael Ellsworth in the Logan, Utah, LDS Temple on Aug. 7, 1930. They raised a family of seven children while living in Lubbock, Texas, Berkeley and Sacramento.
An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served in various positions over the years, including several years as a temple worker. She was a longtime member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and many other women's organizations.
She also was an avid reader and inspired the creation of a book group in Davis that was named after her and has continued for more than three decades. Interested and active in politics, she voted in every election since she was 21, and had sent her absentee ballot for the current election.
A remarkable woman to the end, she continued an active life, enjoying baking homemade bread, making innumerable quilts, doing hand work for humanitarian aid and engaging her mind with friends and family in games of Boggle, Rummikub and Scrabble. She kept her repertoire of dramatic readings firmly in her memory, entertaining within a month of her passing.
Her family described her as an optimistic and energetic woman who always saw the good in people and found joy in simple things. She was especially fond of her many grandchildren and other family who visited often. An excellent manager, attentive wife, mother and grandmother, she will be missed and forever loved.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Michael Ellsworth, on Feb. 15, 1998.
She is survived by her children, Julie Barrett and her husband Scott of Logan, Utah; Orval Ellsworth and his wife Monajo of Palo Alto; Janet Mayhew of Davis; Delbert Ellsworth and his wife Mary Lou of Tonga; Marilyn Fae Ellsworth Gehring and her husband Brent of Virgin, Utah; Spencer Ellsworth and his wife Linda of Seattle; and Dorothy Francis and her husband Robert of Orem, Utah.
She is further survived by her sister, Dorothy Wilson of South Jordan, Utah; 33 grandchildren, 59 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren.
Price Funeral Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements.
