Gail Owens

Gail Elizabeth (Sherman) Owens, 82, of Hendersonville passed away at Carolina Reserve on April 13, 2021 after a long illness. Gail was born in Bath, Maine to Paul H. Sherman and Mary Eleanor Mullaney and grew up in Bath then Cambridge and Lexington, Massachusetts. She graduated from Lexington High School and attended Green Mountain College in Vermont. She met her future husband, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic in nearby New York, on her first day at Green Mountain.

Gail and her husband, David Owens, were married in Lexington and enjoyed a 60 year marriage. She was a traditional housewife and mother who raised three children and supported her husband’s career through many relocations from Newport and Boston in the Navy and to Pittsburgh (three times), Houston, Kansas City and New Martinsville, WV in industry. They retired to Hendersonville in 1999.

She served the community in many ways, from volunteering at a hospital and her children’s schools to taking in foster children and working for the Humane Society. She was active in several Episcopal churches, including developing and starting a Sunday school program at St. Ann’s in West Virginia. In later years she bred and showed Norfolk Terriers, producing many champions, one of which was shown in New York at the Westminster Kennel Club. She was president of the Hendersonville Kennel Club for seven years.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Paul Sherman Jr.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter Linda Owens (Laura Goodson) of Hopewell, NJ; son Thomas Owens (Amanda Ullman) of Greer, SC; and son, Gerald Owens (Jennifer Smith) of Moore, OK. She is also survived by three granddaughters, Jaime Owens of Fountain, CO, and Claire and Kathryn Owens of Greer, SC; and a brother, Robert Sherman (Elaine Leo) of Gilford, NH.

The family plans a small remembrance gathering at a later date when all can be present.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Four Seasons Hospice Foundation of Hendersonville, 211 N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792.