Thursday, October 1, 2026
Alice Owen passed away quietly at her home on August 11, 2026, at the age of 96. Born in 1930 in Butte, Montana, to Austin and Edna Kesler, she was an only child. She often credited this with fostering her lifelong ability to entertain herself through her imagination and curiosity.
Alice studied journalism at the University of Montana, where she met and married John Owen. They celebrated 63 years of marriage before John's death in 2014. Alice and John moved from Montana to Washington state in the 1950s, and loved exploring the forests, mountains, and oceans of the Pacific Northwest. They loved camping, hiking and beachcombing. For many years, gathered the family for memorable vacations in Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast.
Alice and John enjoyed the opportunity to travel extensively throughout North America and Europe, with multiple trips to Italy, which inspired many of Alice's paintings over the years.
Alice was a lifelong artist. She was a member of the NW Watercolor Society and Women Painters of Washington and received multiple awards for her work in watercolor and gouache. She was a lifelong learner, always trying new techniques and approaches, and won the "Innovative" Award at the NW Watercolor Society show in her 80s. She was particularly inspired by the natural world, and much of her work aimed at focusing to focus the viewer's attention on the often unseen details of nature – especially trees.
Alongside her career in art, Alice was an active volunteer in social justice causes as well as arts education and environmental protection. In the 1960s, Alice and John volunteered with a coalition of civic groups that worked to circumvent racist real estate networks through door-to-door campaigning. She was a longtime member of the social justice committee at Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation and an arts docent at Cedar Wood Elementary School.
Alice is survived by her children, David (Heather Holmback) Owen and Kathy (Greg Relaford) Owen; grandchildren Sarah (Ashley) Cope and Rosalyn (Marty) Hall; and great-grandchildren Connor, Tyler, Caden, and Ethan.
To honor Alice's love of natural places, please consider a contribution to The Nature Conservancy in lieu of flowers.
