Deloris Blackwell Owens

Deloris Blackwell Owens passed away at home on Thursday, September 25, 2025. She was born on January 27, 1945, to the late David R. and Pearl Gresham Blackwell.

Deloris graduated in the last graduating class at Oak Hill High School in 1963 and earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Campbell University. She began her professional career as a 4-H agent with the Carteret County Extension Service and retired as a teacher in Granville County Schools in 2003. She was preceded in death by her son Mark, her parents, and her brother, Eugene. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, John; her son Will (Kellie); her daughter Heather (Reid); and five grandchildren – Tim, Cody, Emma, Zack, and Carter; and a sister Joyce Cifers. Deloris used her extraordinary domestic skills of cooking, sewing, and gardening to create an ideal home life. 

The family enjoyed many meals together, as Tim referred to them as feasts, and indeed they were. In addition to her home life, she enjoyed camping and world-wide travel. She had many wonderful days as a volunteer host at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area. She was active at Mountain Creek Church as the church clerk, Sunday School teacher, and choir member. She was a member and past president of the Rho Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa Sorority. She was a member of Oxford Lions Club where she was honored as Melvin Jones Fellow and as a Presnell Ambassador.

 A service of celebration and thanksgiving for a life well-lived will be held at Mountain Creek Baptist Church, 2187 Mountain Creek Road, Oxford, NC 27565 at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday September 28, 2025. Visitation is scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. on September 27 at Gentry-Newell & Vaughan Funeral Home, and in the church social hall one hour before the service. She will be laid to rest beside her son in the church cemetery. 

Deloris loved flowers and they will be accepted, or memorials may be made to Mountain Creek Church, P.O. Box 668, Oxford, NC 27565, Lions VIP Fishing Tournament, P.O. Box 140, Columbia, NC 27925, or The John and Deloris Owens Endowment, Provisions Inc., 201 Convention Drive, Cary, NC 27511-4257. The endowment supports The Divinity School at Campbell University. 

The Owens family is being cared for by Gentry- Newell & Vaughan, Oxford, NC.