Douglas Wayne Owens (May 2, 1937 – December 18, 2002) was an American politician and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Utah's 2nd congressional district Utah's 2nd congressional district currently serves Salt Lake City and the largely rural western and southern portions of Utah, including Saint George and Tooele Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population ...

from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1993.

Career

Born and raised in the small town of

Panguitch, Utah Panguitch ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Garfield County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,520 at the 2010 census, and was estimated in 2018 to be 1,691. The name Panguitch comes from a Southern Paiute word meaning “Big Fish ...

, Owens graduated from Panguitch High School in 1955, then attended the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...

, from which he earned his Bachelor's degree in 1961 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1964. Owens' undergraduate education was interrupted while he served as

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

to France for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS church) from 1957 to 1960. In France, he met his future wife, Marlene, a fellow missionary for the church. Owens worked his way through college and law school through working various jobs, including being a night-watchman at the Beehive House. He then worked as a lawyer in private practice and as a staffer for three

United States Senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Frank Moss Frank Edward "Ted" Moss (September 23, 1911 – January 29, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Utah from 1959 to 1977. Early life and education Frank Moss was born in Hollada ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

, and Edward M. Kennedy of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He was the Western states coordinator for the presidential campaigns of Robert Kennedy in 1968 and Edward Kennedy in 1980, and served as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1968 and 1980. Sen

In 1972, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat by "walking for Congress" throughout the district to meet voters personally. He unseated incumbent Republican

Sherman P. Lloyd Sherman Parkinson Lloyd (January 11, 1914 – December 15, 1979) was a U.S. Representative from Utah. Early life and education Lloyd was born in St. Anthony, Fremont County, Idaho, Lloyd's father was a counselor in the Stake Presidency at t ...

with 55% of the vote. During that period, he sat on the House Judiciary Committee which voted for the articles of impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon. He ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign against

Jake Garn Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn (born October 12, 1932) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a United States senator representing Utah from 1974 to 1993. Garn became the first sitting member of Congress to fly in s ...

in 1974, then served as a

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on ...

of the LDS Canada Montreal Mission from 1975 to 1978, after which he returned to

to practice law. In 1984, Owens lost the Utah gubernatorial race to Republican Norman H. Bangerter, but was re-elected to the House in 1986 and served through 1992, when he ran for the U.S. Senate again. That year, he was defeated by a wider margin than expected by Bob Bennett. Owens was embarrassed that year by his involvement in the so-called

House banking scandal The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the US House of Representatives allowed its members to overdraw their House checking accounts without the risk of being penalized by the House bank, which was actually a clea ...

,. Owens was cleared by the House Ethics Committee of any wrong-doing, as the "scandal" was essentially generous overdraft protection and no taxpayer money was ever at risk. Owens was attacked for his "liberal" voting record, which his supporters contended actually was liberal only by the standard of conservative Utah politics. Following his Senate defeat, he retired to semi-private life but remained a tireless proponent for the causes he had championed in the U.S. Congress. Throughout his congressional career, Owens was a friend to

environmentalists An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

(he would later serve on the boards of several environmental organizations within the state), an advocate for "

downwinders Downwinders were individuals and communities in the intermountain area between the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges primarily in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah but also in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who were exposed to radioactive c ...

" who had suffered

radiation exposure Radiation is a moving form of energy, classified into ionizing and non-ionizing type. Ionizing radiation is further categorized into electromagnetic radiation (without matter) and particulate radiation (with matter). Electromagnetic radiation con ...

during

atomic testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the 1950s, a strong supporter of the Central Utah Project to bring much-needed water to the region, and founder of the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. He always considered his vote, along with the votes of his fellow freshman congressmen, to force the vote that ended the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

to be one of the highlights of his career.

Personal life

After serving as a congressman, Owens was selected as a LDS Mission President and served as such for a three year tenure in the Montreal mission in Canada 1975 to 1978. He was the founder and representative of the Institute of Middle Eastern Peace in Israel. On December 18, 2002, Owens suffered a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

while on a trip to further the cause of Middle East peace. In the 2014 and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...

congressional elections, Wayne Owens' son, Doug Owens, ran for election to

Utah's 4th congressional district Utah's 4th congressional district is a congressional district created by the state legislature as a result of reapportionment by Congress after the 2010 Census showed population increases in the state relative to other states. Prior to 2010 rea ...

.Another Owens Jumps into Utah Politics
''UtahPolicy.com'', Bob Bernick, January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2019. He was defeated by Republican candidate

Mia Love Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 19 ...

in both of his runs.

References

External links

*Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–Present
/span> *The Center for Middle East Peace & Economic Cooperation
/span> *
/span> *
/span> * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Wayne 1937 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Canada Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Panguitch, Utah Politicians from Salt Lake City University of Utah alumni Utah lawyers Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery American Mormon missionaries in France Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians Latter Day Saints from Utah 20th-century American lawyers