Jack P Ownbey

Jack J. Ownbey (78) passed away on May 18, 2025, at his home in Surfside. He was born on April 2, 1947, in Martinez, CA, to Jack Ownbey, Sr and Christie (Kolb) Ownbey.

He was raised in the Bay Area and attended high school and college in Santa Cruz, CA. Jack was a Navy veteran from the Vietnam era. When he returned from his military service, he married Kristine Leslie. They had one daughter, Malinda, and were divorced in 1974.

In 1990, Jack moved from Santa Cruz to Portland, OR, where he established a business as a painting contractor. In 1992 he purchased property in Surfside and began building his own house. It was a labor of love for him, and he drove up from Portland to work on it every weekend. Almost single-handedly, he built a beautiful home on the Surfside Canal. He was proud that he accomplished this without borrowing money by doing his own work. He often told people, “I built this house so I could die under my own roof.” He truly got his wish.

In 1998, Jack met Betty (Allen) Pico, a widow of five years. She hired him to build decks for her home and two months later they were married. Theirs is a love story that brought 27 years of happiness to them both.

Besides his house, Jack loved gardening. He spent many hours working with trees, plants and flowers. His home was beautiful and a credit to the community until later years as he became unable to maintain it because of health issues. He was a longtime advocate for the legalization of medical cannabis and when it did become legal in WA, Jack turned his love of gardening inside as he produced his own medicine.

He loved firewood! He picked it up wherever he could find it. He had a wood splitter that was a prized possession. Many cords of wood flew through that machine, to keep the house warm in the winter when the power went out. One of his favorite phrases was “SWEET WOOD!”

Jack was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Betty, at the home; his sister, Sheri McNary of Phoenix; his daughter, Malinda (Philip) Loth, of Midland, Michigan; his step-children, Jenifer Platt and Tone (Angie) Parsons, Spokane; three grandchildren, Krystal Rose Dryden, Zach Mendes and Kelsey Mendes, all of Michigan; three step-grandsons, Michael (Kayla) Parsons, Skylar Parsons, and Joseph Mileson, all of Spokane; four great-grandsons in Michigan and six step great-grandchildren in Spokane, as well as nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his good friend, Robert Reeder, at the home. His friendship was very important to Jack in his declining years as Jack was rarely able to leave the house and they spent many hours talking about fishing and classic cars, and watching “Gunsmoke”.

Jack was associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A celebration of his life will be held in the chapel at 1306 Washington N. Long Beach, on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 12:00 noon. Friends of Jack and Betty are welcome to attend.