Phillip Reber Owens

Sep 8, 1920 - Jul 21, 2006

For nearly four decades, Phillip Owens served as a mechanical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, where among his many assignments he designed special lightweight handling equipment used in weapons programs. At one point during that lengthy career, Owens was named Engineer of the Year by the New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers — an award presented to him for his “outstanding leadership and service to the profession,” according to an old newspaper clipping.

Owens died a week ago today. The Albuquerque resident was 85. A memorial service will take place at 3 p.m. today at Asbury Methodist Church, 10000 Candelaria NE. A private graveside service will be held at Sunset Memorial Park.

Owens, a native midwesterner, arrived in New Mexico during World War II, while serving with the Army. “As a member of the military …he was assigned to a special engineering detachment in a project at Los Alamos,” his daughter, Susan Graziano of Milan, Italy, said, reading biographical information Owens had written. “He was granted an early discharge from the Army to accept a staff position …at the fledgling Sandia Corp., later to become Sandia National Laboratories.” Much of the work he did was classified, so he didn’t talk about it a great deal to his family. But generally it covered a range of tasks, including component design, systems development, manufacturing engineering and specification.

“He also designed special lightweight handling equipment for use on weapons programs,” Graziano said. “He was systems engineer on several major projects.” Owens was involved with a number of professional organizations through the years. He was president of the New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers in the early 1980s and president of the group’s Albuquerque chapter in the mid-1960s. He served as vice president of the National Society of Professional Engineers from 1975 to 1976 and was listed in the Marquis Who’s Who in Science and Engineering in 1998-99. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers as well.

Born in Downers Grove, Ill., and raised in South Bend, Ind., Phillip R. Owens earned a mechanical engineering degree at Purdue University. He worked for Lockheed Aircraft in California, helping in the design of power plants and landing gear for what became the C-130 Hercules transport plane, before entering the Army, going to Los Alamos and then Sandia Labs.

He retired from the labs in 1985, though he served as a consultant for eight years. The extra work might not have been unusual for a man who was described as very active throughout his life. At age 84, he still used a push-powered mower to trim his lawn — cutting patches of grass in 30-minute increments. Owens took considerable interest in everything his children did, whether it was scouting or riding horses, said his daughter, Sara Lovegrove of Dallas. “He was just ‘Superdad,’’’ she said.

In 1971, the Boy Scouts of America bestowed its “Silver Beaver” award, which recognizes distinguished service to youth, on Owens. A longtime sportsman, Owens hunted and fished. He also loved working with his hands, building and fixing things, Lovegrove said. And he loved to dance. Be it the rumba or ballroom style, he entered competitions and accumulated “a stack of ribbons.” Lovegrove remembered how her father played trombone in a German music band and was a baritone in the Asbury Methodist Church choir.

But he never stopped being an engineer. One of Owens’ biggest passions late in life was his development of a “vertical short take-off and landing aircraft.” He had a patent for the concept, an idea he conceived in college, Lovegrove said. Owens was a “mediator,” someone who “tried to always look at the positive side of everything” and was always there for family and friends. “He really was a very caring person, Lovegrove said.

In addition to his daughters, Owens is survived by his daughter-in-law, Marty Lovegrove of Great Falls, Mont., and his brother, John Owens of Pengilly, Minn.

Owens was preceded in death by his wife, Sylvia Owens, and his son, Robert Lovegrove.

Sources: Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com

10/08/2025 EJS