Tribute Prepared by Beverly Travillian Spain

                                  Robert Hiron “Bob” Owen was born February 19, 1927 in the Old Union Community of Henry County, Tennessee.  In later years, Bob would always refer to this area as “the old country” or “God’s country”.   His parents were Robert Orlando Owen and Katie Highfill Owen.  Bob had an older sister, Mary Elizabeth Owen Travillian, and a younger brother, Oscar Ray Owen.  Another brother, James Fleming Owen, died as an infant.  The family attended both Old Union Primitive Baptist Church and Tumbling Creek Missionary Baptist Church.  During that time, Old Union had services on first and third Sundays and Tumbling Creek had services on second and fourth Sundays.  The family was very active in both churches.  Bob’s father was a successful farmer, but he died suddenly when Bob was only twelve.  With his death, many responsibilities fell on Bob’s young shoulders.  He was able to finish high school and graduated from Cottage Grove High School in 1944. That same year, he began his banking career at the Bank of Gleason.  

Bob started his banking career as a teller.  His duties also included sweeping up and stoking the furnace.  However, he quickly rose through the ranks and was elected an officer of the Bank of Gleason in 1947, elected to the Board of Directors in 1954 and was chosen as president and CEO in 1965.  In 1993, he was appointed as chairman of the board.  He was also president of Bancshares of Gleason, Inc., the holding company of the Bank of Gleason. 

Bob married Darreen Shaw in 1946.  They built a home in Gleason and had three sons, Robert, Alan and Eric, who are all residents of Gleason.  Robert, Alan and Eric gave Bob seven grandchildren: Erica, Blaine, Ellen, Megan, Kody, Sam and James.  Dareen passed away in 1989, and on August 1, 1999, Bob married Peggy Kemp Wimberley. 

Bob was also a veteran of the U. S. Army, having served during the Korean Conflict.  With his banking background, he served as pay master during his time in the Army.  He also served as mayor of Gleason from 1957 to 1959 and was very instrumental in bringing the H.I.S. clothing factory to Gleason.  

Bob served as president of the Tennessee Bankers Association in 1992 and 1993.  He was a past director of the State and Federal Legislative Committee of the TBA, serving in Nashville and Washington, D. C.   Since 1957 he had served on the board of the West Tennessee Public Utility District which serves Benton, Carroll, Weakley and Henry Counties, serving as chairman at the time of this death.  He was formerly a director of the Methodist Hospital of McKenzie and a member of the city of Gleason Industrial Committee.  He had been a member of the Weakley County Jury Commission for the past twenty-five years, a partner in Finch-Owen Insurance Agency since 1957, and was a partner in Travillian-Owen Farms.  He also formerly served on the board of the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, having been appointed by Gov. Ned R. McWherter.  

He served as commander of the Gleason American Legion Post #166 and was a 32^nd degree Mason, and a Shriner.  He was also a member of the First Baptist Church in Gleason, a charter member and past president of the Gleason Rotary Club, and a Paul Harris Fellow.  He received the outstanding citizenship award in 1959 and was named Boss of the Year by the local Jaycee Chapter in 1978.  He was honored by local townspeople with a “Bob Own Day” in 1982.  

Beginning with the very first Tater Town Special in 1973, Bob was a strong supporter of the Gleason Gazelles.  The Gazelles could not only count on his financial support, but he was also always ready and willing to go that extra mile to support every event that was sponsored. 

In 1979, the Gazelles planned an extra special Tater Town Special as a 50^th year homecoming for all the graduates of Gleason High School.  Many of the planned activities required large expenditures, and the Gleason Gazelles, wanting to put on a really first class event, borrowed $5,000.  But on Tater Town Day, Gleason experienced one of the biggest rains of the year.  Most of the events were cancelled.  The Gazelles were in trouble.  There was no money to pay the loan.  Several of the Gazelles met with Mr. Bob.  As he had done countless times before in similar situations, Bob worked out a repayment plan and the Gleason Gazelles were able to go on. 

In 1978 and again in 1990, the Gazelles selected Bob as Grand Marshall of the Tater Town Special.  When the Gazelles told him of the honor, he very humbly accepted the nomination, but only after much discussion of others who, he felt, were more deserving. 

Bob Owen’s name became synonymous with the Bank of Gleason and Gleason, Tennessee.  He died on August 26, 1999.  Bob had been an employee of the Bank of Gleason for 55 years, in every capacity from fireman and teller to chairman and chief executive officer.  He was not only a banking genius and successful businessman, he was a devoted family man and a trusted friend.  His family, friends, co-workers and even his competitors respected him.  His tireless efforts to make the Bank of Gleason the best and most profitable bank possible and at the same time provide invaluable service and opportunities for the people of our area had a great influence on many lives.  Bob loved Gleason and never stopped trying to make it the best place in the world to live. - Tribute prepared by Beverly Travillian Spain.

Woody "Pat" Dewberry, Bartlett, Tennessee

One other major accomplishment that can be credited to Bob Owen is the fact that he’s the main reason that Gleason still has a high school.  A number of  years ago the Weakley County School Board wanted to consolidate county schools and combine Gleason with Dresden at the new school that was being built on the “new” Highway 22.  Bob was of the opinion that a community loses its identity, and to some extent its soul, when it loses its schools and the community’s children are bused or “shipped off” to a school in another community.  He also felt it would hurt Gleason in attracting new business development if the people who might be relocating to Gleason couldn’t send their children to a local school in town. The consolidation never happened. Saving Gleason’s high school might be viewed a the crowning achievement in Bob’s illustrious civic career.

Also, Bob single-handedly fought for, and won, an agreement from the Tennessee Department of Transportation to have a very large sign posted on the newly renovated US Highway 70/79 where it intersects with Hwy. 22 in McKenzie to show a directional arrow and the name “GLEASON”.  TDOT didn’t want to spend the money for the new sign, but Bob insisted that Gleason needed the benefit of travelers, truckers, and people who had a need to do business in Gleason to know how to get to the town. He got his sign!

Bob was very influential outside of Gleason; in fact a lot of people might be surprised at the level of influence and the number of political figures that Bob had contact with in the state legislature in Nashville.  Bob may have been from the country, but he was no country bumpkin.  He won respect from a lot of people.  It was RESPECT for Bob, and Bob’s own sense of respect for others, that made him the man he was and it made him able to get things accomplished when Gleason needed a spokesperson.  When Bob died in August 1999 the local funeral home had visitation at the First Baptist Church auditorium because there wouldn’t be enough room at the funeral home for the large turnout of visitors.  And, there was a HUGE crowd.  They were even serving food to visitors in the fellowship hall.  I saw Ms. Opal Dellinger that night and one of the things she said to me was, “I don’t know what Gleason is going to do now that Bob is gone, he was so important to the town”.  I’m sure Gleason still misses Bob Owen!

Jim Johnson, Gainesville, Florida

I am very pleased to see the major accomplishments of Mr. Bob Owen highlighted so eloquently in the tribute to him provided by Beverly (Travillian) Spain and in the above comments by Pat Dewberry. Trying to summarize Bob Owen's accomplishments in one page is a daunting task as it is impossible to appropriately recognize all of his many contributions to the City of Gleason in such limited space. I would like to add to what has already been said by further highlighting the caring, humanitarian side of Bob Owen from a somewhat personal perspective. 

It was 1956 and my dad had been working at the Bank of Gleason, at its former location, for several years. I can still recall the times, as a child,  when I would stop by the bank  and talk with the other people who worked there (who kindly tolerated my interrupting their work) as well as one very special time when I was able to watch  my first St. Louis Cardinal baseball game on the banks television, which was one of the few television sets in Gleason at that time. The reception was not all that great and the picture was “snowy” but the opportunity to watch my favorite team play on television for the first time was exciting nonetheless. At that time Mr. Carl Parks was President of the bank and Mr. Bob Owen and Mr. Ed Fanning both had major administrative roles. 

It was in October of that year that things got turned upside down when I was told that my dad had passed out at the bank one afternoon.  There was a quick trip to see Dr. Jeter, Gleason's doctor for many years, and later a trip to Memphis for surgery to remove what turned out to be a malignant brain tumor. The surgery was successful but he was unable to go back to work and died five months later in March of 1957. 

With his illness, things were tough. My dad had experienced medical problems since being discharged from the Navy so he had never been able to get health insurance and few businesses back then had any type of paid medical leave for these types of situations. There were medical bills and, with my mother not working outside the home and my dad unable to work, there were the prospects of no income.  While, at age 13, I didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation, my mother told me later of the role that Bob Owen played in helping our family get through this very difficult time. She told of how, after my dad’s surgery and his learning that the outlook was poor, Bob Owen initiated a special meeting with Mr. Fanning and Mr. Parks and that the Board of Directors of the Bank subsequently arranged for my dad to receive a significant portion of his salary for the duration of his illness. My mother never forgot this nonobligatory act of kindness and when my brothers and I were growing up, on many occasions when she felt called upon to help someone else in need, she would  remind us of how our family had received help when we needed it and that we had to "pass it on". 

While there were many others from Gleason that were there for our family during that time (and they are well remembered!), I have never forgotten the debt owed to Bob Owen and the Bank of Gleason. I am thankful that, although many years had passed, I was able to get back to Gleason, before his death, to thank Bob for what he and the bank did for our family those many years ago. I still treasure the old green Bank of Gleason cap that he sold to me for a nickel during that visit.  Parenthetically, I should note that he apologized for charging me the nickel for the hat. Said something about not charging anything would violate some sort of rule and that he had to do things right.  From what I can tell, Mr. Bob Owen did most everything right!

Bob was not only one who helped shape the history of Gleason, a gifted banker, a savvy businessman, and mayor; he was a man of impeccable character who cared deeply about others and was more interested in seeing what he could do for them than what they could do for him. I have learned over the years that such men are rare. He was indeed a “man for all seasons”. 

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