Owen Lovejoy Wickens 1865-1957

WICKENS, HEATON, SOLMONSON, MEEWES, APPLEBAUM

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 10/20/2012 at 00:24:32

OWEN L. WICKENS DIES AT 91
Owen L. Wickens, 91, longtime resident of the Estherville area, died yesterday shortly before noon at the Balmer Rest Home where he had lived since January. Mr. Wickens had been in poor health for some time and had failed rapidly during the past month.

Owen Lovejoy Wickens, son of James and Elizabeth Wickens, was born Sept. 15, 1865, at Tampico, Ill. He received his schooling there and grew to manhood in and around Tampico.

He was married on Feb. 20, 1893, to Viola Heaton at Sterling, Ill. In 1906 the family moved to Galva, Iowa, where they lived on a farm. While living at Galva, Mr. Wickens became a member of the Galva Methodist Church.

In 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Wickens and family moved to a farm just south of Gruver and lived there until 1940 when they moved to another farm north of Superior. They continued to make their home there until the death of Mrs. Wickens in 1950. Since that time until January of this year, Mr. Wickens had made his home with his daughters, Mrs. Harvey Solmonson of this city and Mrs. Russell Meewes of Dike.

Mr. Wickens was an ardent sportsman and an expert shot and enjoyed hunting and fishing as long as his health permitted. He was hunting at Hastings, Neb. at the time of the Indian skirmishes of Sitting Bull.

Survivors of Mr. Wickens are three daughters, Mrs. Harvey (Irene) Solmonson of Estherville; Mrs. David (Verna) Applebaum of Akron, Ohio, who is traveling in Europe at the present time; Mrs. Russell (Lucille) Meewes of Dike; two sons, Lester of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Clarence of Superior; one brother, Thomas L. Wickens, 94, of Ottawa, Ill.; nine grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Sternborg Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Eugene Olson officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at Sternborg Funeral Home from Wednesday noon until time of services. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, August 6, 1957)