Donald Dale Owsley

Donald Dale Owsley May 22, 1931, to July 21, 2024 Donald Dale Owsley was born to Lewis and Theresa Tricillia Green Owsley in Hagerman Valley, Idaho. Who knew the impact this little whipper snapper would have on the lives of so many people. But hold on, we'll get to that, let's not get ahead of ourselves, 

To many, Donald went by Don, some addressed him as Dale; but his favorite honors were husband, dad, grandpa, great grandpa, brother, uncle, or "my friend", Whatever you called him, he would always answer, and listen with fullness of heart. What was valuable to you was central to Dad. Many sought out his wisdom and guidance; however, when correction was necessary, you would be read to from the "Book of Don". It suffices to say many a family member has been read from a chapter or two. 

Our mother called him Dale. So, we will refer to him as Dale until he became Dad. 

In search of making a good honest living, Dale's father Lewis moved the family from the Hagerman Valley to Henderson, Nevada where he found work constructing the Hoover Dam. He found the safety of those laboring to complete the dam leaky at best. Lewis witnessed the loss of life to the unfortunate who fell to their final resting place, forever intombed in a concrete grave. Though Lewis was not one to shun a hard day's work, that Hoover "Dam" job was not worth the risk. He loaded up the family along with their belongings and made his way up to Draper, Utah where he " raised" a poultry farm. This is where Dale spent a good portion of his early years. One of his first jobs found him "cooped up" raising and processing chickens for his dad. We loved listening to Dad, (Dale), telling us stories of how neighbors would trade goods they raised for goods they needed to help make ends meet. 

Even after butchering chickens day in and day out, chicken cooked in a special family recipe in a Dutch Oven became a family favorite. Dale refused to eat chicken cooked any other way. 

Dale attended Jordan High School where he found creative ways to "pass" the test. For instance, he agreed to teach the instructor how to ski to "earn" an "A" in the class. Many of his classmates joined in on the fun and so began the Jordan High School Ski Club. Dale loved to ski, and it was not unusual to find him on the slopes doing flips and other tricks, Dale eventually joined the Alta Ski Patrol and continued to give skiing lessons to anyone that would sign up. Oh, and yes, he did pass that language class with an "A". 

Throughout his life Dale loved to compose verse where he blended word and passion with pen and paper. These treasures are bound together for family to enjoy for generations to come. It was moms wish that they never be published. Most were family related. Therefore, they were just for family. 

Dale served in the Navy during the Korean Conflict. He was honorably discharged after his ship an auxiliary oil and gas tanker hit a mine off the coast of South Korea. He woke up at Trippler Army Hospital in Hawaii where he was presented the purple heart, a certificate, and a handshake while a photo was taken. His heart sank however, when the officer told him there was a shortage on purple hearts and he needed this medal to present to several other wounded men; Dale could present the certificate to any army navy store to pick up a purple heart. 

After being discharged, Dale returned home, wounded and broken. Life got better when his sister Peggy introduced him to Ellen Charlene Angell who captured his heart and kept it beating for 51 years, 1 month, 8 hours, 12 minutes and it was not nearly long enough while they shared life together hand in hand. He longed to be reunited with her in heaven since her passing on December 21, 2003. Then on July 21 2024, after 21 years apart, he is once again dancing with our mother. We do know that the moment dad passed through the veil, we witnessed a smile. 

It was October 8, 1953, when Dale and Ellen transitioned graciously to Dad and Mom with the birth of Dale Lewis Owsley. Every two years for the next eight the family increased one daughter at a time. This family of seven shared life's most precious moments loving, supporting and of course the occasional antagonizing of one another. 

Together, Dad and Mom poured their lives and love into five wonderful, adorable, children, (no, I'm not exaggerating). Through the years these five multiplied their legacy and the family continues to grow. At last count, (and dad took pride in counting each and every one of them); 18 grandkids; 44 great grandkids, 4 great-great grandkids with 3 more on the way. 

To support his young family, dad secured a job as a welder the Lang Company in Salt Lake City. From there he joined the union at the Salt Lake refinery which sometime later was acquired by and became known as the American Oil Company of Salt Lake City. It was there he worked his way up to the safety office, became part of management, and advanced to the position of Assistant Safety Director. During his employment there, dad and mom worked together on a "Safety Seat Belt Demonstration" that was shown to over 750,000 people in groups of forty to eighty people per demonstration. It was then shown to the National Safety Council, and finally to the United States Congress. This eventually led to him testifying before congress on two separate occasions, which resulted in the passing of the National Safety Seat Belt Law 

Dad and mom loved taking the family on camping trips in the gorgeous mountains around Salt Lake City. Other favorite past times were hunting, skiing, archery, fishing - sometimes fishing with bow and arrow, hiking, exploring, cutting down our Christmas trees as well as simply going on drives enjoying the scenery. At Easter we would join others at the Utah State Capital and roll Easter eggs down the capital lawns. Once the egg cracked you could eat it. Some of us tossed them back and forth attempting to break them, one of us, (Leslie), sat on an egg, which later we joked about her laying an egg. Mom and Dad made EVERYTHING special. One year for Christmas we followed a string all the way through the house and finally found our new little brother, his name was Sam and for 8 wonderful years we monkeyed around with this Capuchin monkey. 

Winter found the family gathered working on puzzles, sipping hot punch, eating Moms amazing chili and listening to music. Dad and mom on many nights after tucking the five of us into bed, would turn on their favorite big band music and gracefully waltz their way into the night. They also enjoyed the Cha Cha, polka and swing. Though mom favored the Cha Cha dad preferred to waltz holding mom lovingly in his arms. 

From beautiful Bountiful, Utah the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri where Dad found favor with the Bendix Corporation, but he did not find favor with the chiggers. From Kansas City they moved to Cheyenne Wyoming where he eventually became the Administrator of Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health. Dedicated to health and safety, Dad labored to write the Wyoming 18b plan. The Federal Dept. of Labor was not in favor of the State retaining their own authority and claimed the plan was flawed. So, dad, and Governor Hathaway sued the DOL and succeeded in passing the 18B plan. Dad was known as the "Snake" on Capitol Hill. After he retired from Wyoming OHSA, he took on several cases as an expert witness and many cases were won solely based on his testimony. We are so proud of how Dad stood for what he believed in and saw things through to their victory by never backing down or cowering to threats.

Many Cheyenne-ites knew Dad and Mom from Dunkin Donuts where they had part ownership with Craig and Terry Henning. There was a lot of truth in those commercials where the owner met himself leaving through the door " TIME TO MAKE THE DOUGHNUTS" Do you remember the "sign wars" on Lincoln Way between the Balloon Family and Dunkin Donuts? Many patrons would stop in or drive by simply to read the banter between the fun-loving word battle-ists. 

Mom and Dad bought their earthly piece of heaven just north of Cheyenne, where they enjoyed their 6-hole golf course on the prairie with 4 water shots and a sand pit. They also enjoyed conducting their N gage locomotives in the train room they labored over together with help from other family members. Trains were a passion for dad and mom that began one Christmas when mom gave him his first set; "The De Witt Clinton" by Bachmann. The railway nostalgia has romanced its way through the generations and will long be in the hearts of those privileged to be " n-gaged" with this affair. 

After the passing of our beloved mother, Dad became active in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints. He was very active in the church, wore many hats, and made many friends. He was very respected and loved by his church family. This became a very important part of his life. 

There is so much more to say, so much more to share, volumes could be put to paper. There are memories etched in the hearts of family and friends. Moments in time have been captured on slides, photos, film and even recordings of those familiar voices that speak of time past. We will continue the legacy for generations to come. 

Donald Dale Owsley was preceded in death by his life partner and best friend, Ellen Charlene Angell Owsley, whom he has rejoined in heaven. His parents, Lewis and Theressia Owsley, and sisters, Betty Lou Eileen Fitch and Peggy Donalue Fisher. Also departing ahead of dad were his oldest child and only son Dale Lewis Owsley, son-in-law Phillip Mireles, grandson Michael Kopcho, and great grandson Eric Warren: 

He is survived by his daughters Cheryl Mireles of Mesa Arizona, Terry Henning, (Craig); Linda Kibben, (David); Leslie Jenkins, (Randy) all of Cheyenne, WY. 18 grandchildren, 44 great grandchildren, and 4, soon to be more great-great grandchildren. 

To know Dad was to love Dad. One of his favorite things would be to engage with friends and strangers alike presenting them with a Hershey's Kiss and he'd say, "You have just been kissed by a 93-year-old man." He got more enjoyment from the responses he received than from giving the "kiss". I hope you were blessed to be one of those who brought pleasure to our dad. 

And so - In loving respect and honor of Donald Dale Owsley - "Owsleys saddle up" and "Have any kind of a day you want!" 

A photo gallery showing photos from the life of Donald is below.