After a brief illness, Owen Reese, Jr., died on July 6, 2020, in Roswell, Georgia. Always straightforward, he might say it was his time, having celebrated his 90th birthday in November.
A native of High Point, NC, Owen graduated from Davidson College, served in the Korean War, attended Duke Medical School on the GI Bill and completed a fellowship in cardiology at the Emory School of Medicine. He moved to Panama City in 1961, joining John L. Fishel and later Sidney A. Daffin at Internal Medicine Associates on Harrison Avenue. He treated multiple generations of Bay County residents and had a candid bedside manner, retiring in 2006. His colleagues said that they always knew where they stood with Owen.
Owen was known for his many interests, which included fine furniture making, woodworking, fishing, tree farming and Monday night football. He relished life in the Florida Panhandle with his family and many friends. Owen taught his children how to tie knots, run a boat, water ski, scallop, gig flounder, rake for sand fleas, fell a tree, surf cast and more, all with varying success. After the first family blueberry outing yielded only one berry, he planted his own bushes in Washington County and encouraged others to pick them as well. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, served as chief of staff at Bay Medical Center and was active in various medical causes during his career.
A lifelong learner who overcame dyslexia, Owen was studying string theory, the unifying theory of the universe, and still attempting to understand calculus near the time of his death.
He is survived by his wife, Anne Hall Reese; his children, son Ed and daughter-in-law Kathy, of Plano, TX; daughter Sarah of Roswell, GA; son Bill and daughter-in-law Mary, of Roswell, GA; five grandsons; one great grandson; sister Elizabeth and brother-in-law David Ward, of New Bern, NC; and sister Margaret and brother-in-law Bill Whitford of Sun City, FL. He was predeceased by his brother William and sister-in-law Mary Louise Reese of Beaufort, SC.
The family looks forward to remembering Owen’s life at a future date and requests that memorials be sent to Doctors Without Borders, First United Methodist Church or Habitat for Humanity.
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