St. George, UT - Homer Owen, 86, passed away August 2, 2010 in St. George, Utah. Homer was born December 1, 1926 in Modesto, CA to Roy and Sarah Owen. Homer married Marjorie Emery on August 30th in 1947. They have two sons, Chris and Kevin. Homer enlisted in the US Army Air Force on September 15, 1942. He flew 50 missions with the 15th Air Force, 5th Bomb Wing, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Squadron as radio-operator and ball-turret gunner in B-17's based out of Foggia, Italy. He received the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and European Theater of Operations with 7 Battle Stars. He was honorably discharged as a Technical Sergeant on September 17, 1945. During some of the raids, the 97th Squadron was supported by the Tuskegee Airmen fighter group in their P-51's. One raid to oil fields in Ploesti, Romania resulted in 4 of the 7 planes in the 97th being shot down. Homer's plane returned with more than 100 flak holes (to the frustration of the ground crew who had the job of repairing the holes). After WWII, Homer received his BA in History from Reed College and his MA in Industrial Relations from Cornell University. Most of his working career was spent with Blue Cross Blue Shield. He retired in 1989 as the Director of Internal Auditing and moved to St. George to be close to his nephew David Emery. Homer is survived by his wife, Marjorie; his sister Evelyn Billingsley of Ulm, MT; sons: Chris and Wanda of West Lafayette, IN, Kevin and Erin of Homer Glen, IL; and six grandchildren: Tara, Grant, Dulus, Elena, Kyle, and Katee. Following his wishes, Homer was cremated at Metcalf Mortuary. A celebration of Homer's life will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Dove Center, St. George, UT. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, (435) 673-4221.