It Wasn't Enough Time
21 years wasn't enough time. Owen LIVED those 21 years. There are so many things we are going to miss about him. His humor, his whit, his laugh, his hugs. Everything. We miss everything. We try to fill the void he left in our hearts by remembering. We remember it all.
He wasn't done yet. He had so much more to do, but he did so much more than most. Here are some of the things about Owen that you might not know.
Owen was born 3 weeks early, 2 days after Christmas, facing the wrong way.
We loved him before we met him and have loved him every day since.
We brought him home on New Year's Eve. He was smaller than our cat Iggy.
He was the cutest baby ever. People would stop us in stores, on the street, in restaurants, to comment on his big blue eyes.
He took his first steps the weekend after Thanksgiving, in Miami International Airport, a month before his first Birthday.
Both sides of the family came to Denver to celebrate Christmas and his first birthday with us.
He tripped and fell at his birthday party and had a lifetime bump on his head from that fall.
He loved his little sister and called her "Little Laurel Cubby Cheeks" when she was a toddler.
He spent summers in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
He'd been horseback riding multiple times.
He was his father's mini-me.
He almost didn't graduate from High School because of unexcused absences.
He loved tacos. He went on a taco run almost every day. Current favorites included Chivis and Tacos Acapulco.
He went to his first Colorado Rockies game when he was a few months old and went every season of his life.
He played football, baseball, lacrosse, and soccer as a kid. He also tried swim team and basketball.
His baseball team won the 2015 league championship. He was the catcher and they called him the hulk.
He was on the Denver Athletic Club swim team for less than a season before quitting.
He always sat at the head of the dining room table when we ate as a family. Which we did every night we did not have sports until COVID.
He saw Mount Rushmore.
He didn't love traveling but traveled to Florida, New York, Washington DC, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, South Dakota, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and California.
He visited the original Outsiders House in Tulsa, OK.
He went camping.
He somehow managed to take the same science class twice at East High School. His counselor caught it halfway through the year and he switched to Marine Biology for the last half of the year.
He saw the Congress Bridge bats in Austin, TX.
He was on the album cover for The Soft Civil War (2008) album by Everything Absent or Distorted (a Love Story).
He competed in a kid triathlon at the Denver Athletic Club.
He spray painted his name on a Cadillac at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas and ate the Big Texan.
He was constantly in trouble for bad grades because he never tried in school. He was probably the smartest person in the room but just didn't love school.
He'd been to Disney World, Disney Land, Universal Orlando, and Universal California.
He swam with sharks, sting rays, and turtles in Belize.
He panned for gold in the Colorado Mountains.
He stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City and knew the soda refill lady by name by the end of the first day.
He took boxing lessons.
He saw a baby giant panda named Bao Bao at the National Zoo in D.C.
He had 4 tattoos.
His beard grew in red. Proof that he's Irish.
He swam with dolphins in Mexico.
He hiked the Puye Cliff Dwellings in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
He was a competitive snowboarder for Team Summit and competed in rail jams, slopestyle, halfpipe, and boarder cross. He qualified for USASA Nationals 2017 at Copper Mountain in halfpipe and boarder cross and was nationally ranked in both.
He attended the MLK parade in D.C when he was 3 months old. He took his first ever flight to get there.
He did backflips off the Jaws bridge in Martha's Vineyard.
He tried to take up running but hated it.
When he first learned to read it was a struggle for him. Lots of reading intensives followed. He learned to love reading and was building his own "library" of classic books.
He died his hair purple.
During Barack Obama's first campaign, the Democratic National Convention was in Denver. Owen was obsessed with Obama and had us driving all over Denver looking for him. He threw a fit on the 16th street mall because we wouldn't buy him a Barack Obama bobble head.
He flew across the country as an unaccompanied minor with his little sister. We warned them not to fight on the plane so they refused to sit together so they wouldn't get in trouble.
When he was 16, he bought himself a used Mercedes C300 and made the downpayment in cash. He paid it off before his 18th birthday.
He got his first job at Shake Shack at 15, he lied about his age to get hired. He worked there for 5 years.
He had the thickest, craziest hair that grew so fast. SO MUCH HAIR. He was terrified of going bald.
He broke his ankle skateboarding home from school his Freshman year of High School.
He loved all things Philadelphia, the Eagles, the Phillies, but had never been to Pennsylvania.
He learned to surf in Sayulita, Mexico.
When he was in preschool and elementary school, he chewed on the collars of his shirts. They all looked like they had been eaten by a goat.
He went to Meow Wolf in Denver and Santa Fe.
He went to Yellowstone Park with his grandfather.
He loved "Dark Mater" as a kid. You could not convince him that his name was actually Darth Vader.
He bought and sold streetwear all through middle school. He would skip Anthropology class to buy during drops and then resell to local shops. He built relationships with local buyers and negotiated pricing on his own.
He built his own gaming computer in 8th grade.
He fell in love.
He sawm in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Caribbean Sea, and many cenotes, rivers, lakes, and bays.
His foot was run over by 2 cars in 2 months. Same foot, different cars.
He went on a cruise.
He caught a trout on a fly rod.
He paddle boarded on Lake Dillon.
He was one of the most stubborn and loyal people we've ever met.
He loved cats, sometimes more than people, and would come home regularly just to see his kitties.
He had a teddy bear named Booger.
He went to Math Camp one summer and hated it.
He watched A LOT of baseball.
When he was a toddler, he loved the 7th Inning Stretch and insisted on singing "take me out to the baseball game" rather than ballgame. He liked his version better.
The last book he read was Bonfires of the Vanities.
He was shy until you got to know him.
He ziplined through the jungle at Xcaret.
He held a monkey in Honduras.
He had a bearded dragon named Spike.
He let his hair grow out and shaved his head several times.
He had lots of shoes but always wore a beat-up pair of black Converse.
He brought his black JanSport backpack everywhere with him.
We rode our bikes to a summer camp down the street when he was in elementary school. He wasn't paying attention and slammed into the back of a parked car. He told the camp that he had a concussion (he didn't) and made us go get him.
He moved out at 18 and lived with friends. He was fully self-sufficient at 18.
He knew how to change the oil in his car.
He struggled with depression and anxiety.
He had a lawn mowing business in high school until the lawnmower broke.
He went clamming with his grandfather.
He spent a lot of time on boats but often got seasick.
He spent the 4th of July in Vail, Colorado.
He watched fireworks on the field at Coors Field.
He played the violin in elementary school.
He took Italian in middle school.
He liked his steak cooked to 130 degrees.
He felt more deeply than most and was very sensitive.
He did a comedy routine at his elementary school talent show.
He was learning to tattoo.
He almost always had a hat on.
His street art appeared in LIVINGPROOF magazine.
He tested into the DPS Gifted and Talented program but hated it. He was so smart.
He loved seafood. Fish, shrimp, lobster, clam chowder...all of it.
He spent 3 weeks in San Pedro, Belize with friends and family.
When he was really broke, he would make what he called "gruel". It was some combination of ground beef, potatoes, and spices that he ate over rice or in a tortilla. He kept threatening to make it for his parents.
He ate too much McDonalds and hated when they put mayo on his chicken sandwich. He got so excited when the McRib was available and never missed an opportunity to get a Shamrock Shake.
His car broke down in the liquor store parking lot across from his apartment and had to be towed after hours because the parking lot was so small the tow truck couldn't fit unless the parking lot was empty.
He received his tax return the day he died.
He was banned from the Stadium Inn for drinking underage.
He saw the Eagles play the Cowboys in Dallas with his cousins.
If Dunkin Donuts put cheese on his breakfast sandwich it would ruin his whole day.
He attended Metro State University for a semester and wanted to enroll for the fall 2026 semester.
His sister's contact name in his phone is "Crack Head".
He liked to cook. He especially liked to grill on his apartment balcony.
His favorite part of Disney World was Animal Kingdom.
The last baseball game he went to was the Rockies home opening series against the Phillys with his Dad.
He loved kids, especially babies, and easily connected to them.
He never refused a hug from his Mom.
He had a cat named Cha Cha that never left his room. He loved that cat.
He smoked Marlboro Smooth 100's.
His eyes changed from blue, to green, to gray depending on his mood, the weather, or what he was wearing.
He had the best laugh.
He preferred Dunkin over Starbucks and always ordered a medium iced coffee with cream and sugar.
He marched in Denver's St. Patrick's Day parade with his football team.
He used to sneak into his sister's room at night and steal food out of her snack drawer while she slept.
He pretended he was a "zombie wolf" for an entire family photo shoot when he was little.
He went to sleep away camp at Geneva Glen and Woodward at Copper.
He saw live music at Red Rocks.
The last words he said to his parents were "I love you, see you in the morning".
He went white water rafting a few times.
He chopped down a tree in the mountains.
He loved his French Bulldog, Ozzy.
He and his sister communicated with each other through a banter of insults. We miss that banter.
He went on a treasure hunt for pirate's treasure and found some.
He liked to draw and doodle.
He went to the top of the Empire State Building and did not like it at all. Turns out he was afraid of heights.
He fed the giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
Every time he backed out of the driveway he would flip his sister off, call her a nerd, and speed away.
He liked to attend car shows with friends.
He had very broad taste in music but mostly listened to rap.
He said "what's it called, what's it called....yeah, yeah" multiple times a day.
He invented the term "table fries", which were fries meant for the whole table.
He had a friendly squirrel that visited his bedroom window every day.
He fed bananas to wild monkeys in Mexico.
He saw Mayan ruins.
He cursed like a sailor. He might have gotten that from his Mom.
He always said "I love you" when he hung up the phone or left the house.
His last day we spoiled him rotten. We went to Whole Foods and bought swordfish, ribeye, NY strip, shrimp cocktail, mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes, gravy, so much food. We cooked a huge meal and ate together. He ate all the shrimp cocktail. He was looking forward to the leftovers. It took us at least 10 days to throw that food out. Even if we had known it was his last day, we wouldn't have done it differently. It was perfect.
He often slept with his door open so the cats could come in and out and visit him during the night.
He rode on the back of an elephant.
He went thrifting almost every day over his last few weeks and was getting ready to upsell his finds. His sister is going to sell everything for him. He had a great eye for resale.
The week he died his car got broken into and he got a parking ticket...in the same day.
He snuck out of the house often when he lived at home. He thought we didn't know.
He went to the circus and thought it was so sad to see the animals. He never wanted to go again.
When he was 4, the highest compliment he could give you was "I love you faster than a racecar".
Breakfast was his favorite meal. He was so happy when McDonalds had all day breakfast.
In Kindergarten, he fell in the Zen Garden at school and nearly cut his finger off. He thought that was not very Zen.
He fought too much but was good at it. He rarely lost a fight.
He loved spicy chips. His most recent favorite were Lay's Flamin Hot potato chips.
He always wore shorts under his jeans in addition to his boxers.
He played basketball at the Glenarm Recreations Center in elementary school. His team name was the Hustla's.
He loved to build things and has an extensive Lego collection.
He saw Denver Ballet's version of the Nutcracker several times.
He bought our cats, Pebbles and Coco, a massive cat tree for his room so they would spend more time with him. It arrived, he put it together, and he moved out a week later. Now we have a cat tree in our living room.
He was a big fan of Chili's and liked their Tripple Dipper.
Our Disney+ account was attached to his email and he had the password. We have a few TVs that are locked out and can't get in.
He could play chess.
It snowed the day he died. He never got to see it.
He loved the potted flowers on our front porch.
His cigarette butts were constantly blowing off the front porch into the yard and all over the porch.
He could be extremely shy but somehow made friends no matter where he went. He knew the bartender or the taco guy or the neighbor or the clerk at bodega. People were drawn to him. It was beautiful to see.
He won a jalapeno eating contest at a football award dinner.
When he was in Preschool they called him "Goin Owen" because he never sat still.
He found a starfish in the bay in Massachusetts. It's the only one we'd ever seen in that area.
He had a runny nose for the first 5 years of his life. His nose was ALWAYS running.
His first kiss was in elementary school with a girl named Caroline. She reached out to him years later and thanked him for making her realize she was gay. He thought that was really funny.
He saw Wicked on Broadway in NYC.
He rented a Flyboard in Honduras and was pretty good at it!
He loved to play video games with his friends and had made friends all over the country through gaming.
We read in his journals that he had made a lot of mistakes and bad decisions but he wouldn't change a thing.
He was extremely stubborn. Even as a little kid. Once he had something in his head, it was hard, if not impossible, to convince him otherwise.
He loved Indian food, especially Lamb Saag.
He was an old soul.
He could be very grumpy but often recovered from it quickly, especially as he got older. His roommate described him as emotionally intelligent.
When he was a toddler, our friends would pay him to get them beers at parties and BBQs. We had no idea until we changed him into his PJs for bed and discovered $1 bills shoved into his clothes. He was making $20 every party he went to as a toddler.
His feet grew faster than the rest of his body when he was a kid. He would trip all the time and was really clumsy for a few years.
He went snorkeling in the big tank at the Denver Aquarium.
He carved his name into his childhood bunk bed.
His was an incredibly loyal friend. Once you got close to him, you were a friend for life.
He loved Irish Spring soap.
Even after he washed his clothes, they still smelled like him.
His spirit of choice was Jameson.
The last text conversation he had with his Mom was about Genna Rae Wings & More closing. He was devastated. If you know, you know. It was the best.
In Kindergarten, he played a soccer game in full Spiderman face paint and completely freaked out the other team.
He saw the Red Sox play at Fenway Park.
He could play guitar, at least a little bit, he could pull off a song or two when he wanted to.
He was the BEST at the claw game at arcades. He always won something.
He went indoor skydiving at iFLY.
He had an Irish flag he brought home with him when he moved back in. It kept just appearing in random locations around the house.
He loved Mexican Coca Cola.
He had his 5th birthday party at Boondocks and asked everyone to come dressed as Star Wars characters.
He LOVED hot sauce and was obsessed with Marie Sharp's Smokin Marie Hot Sauce. It's the hottest sauce in Belize.
When he got braces, we went to Wendy's for some fires and a Frosty. He bit into a fry and a bracket fell off. We had to go back to the orthodontist and have it glued back on.
He'd ridden several jet skis.
He loved watermelon.
He always wore his Papa's silver ID bracelet. It was well worn but still said "Love, Joni" on the inside. He lost it a few days before he died and later found it in his laundry basket. Laurel wore it to prom to take a piece of him with her.
He liked to play pool with friends.
We went to dinner with some other families when he was in preschool. Every kid at the table ordered mac n cheese or chicken fingers. Owen ordered lamb chops with sides of asparagus and mashed potatoes.
He almost always had a hoodie on, even in summer. He has more hoodies than we can count.
He loved Dave and Busters. We went for special occasions when he was young.
He refused to park in the student parking lot at East High School. He parked in 2-hour parking instead, leading to countless parking tickets.
He loved to sing "Joy to the World" with his Dad at bath time when he was little and would belt out "Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine!".
The only picture we have of him on his High School graduation was taken by his friend Frankie's Mom. By the time we saw him after the ceremony he had already changed.
He had a Fish Kiss Pedicure on vacation in Mexico. He thought it was hysterical.
He HATED the new traffic pattern on York Street from 17th to 23rd. To be fair, we all do.
He went to the original Casa Bonita and the updated Casa Bonita.
He loved Calvin and Hobbes and had his Dad's old book of comic strips. His first tattoo was of Calvin.
He saw moose in the wild in Grand Lake, Colorado.
He visited the Tulsa Aquarium with his Papa when he was two. He made up a song about the visit and sang it for months. "Turtle, turtle, turtle, turtle...Beaver!!". We're not sure why the aquarium had beavers, but he thought they were great.
He got to see his sister in her prom dress before he died. He thought she looked beautiful...although he likely made some snarky comment to her.
When he was home for a few weeks we tried to cook all his favorite meals. When Laurel was at work, we'd cook all the things he liked that she didn't. He said his favorite everyday meal was Italian Beef in the crockpot. Here's the recipe.
His favorite color was purple.
He had a favorite dinner plate. It was a blue plastic plate from the Dollar Tree. We started with a bunch of them when the kids were little. They slowly broke down over the years. He was so bummed when the last one broke about a year ago.
His Dad took him grocery shopping a week or so before he died. He bought 2 boxes of cereal, Fruity Pebbles and Frosted Flakes. He still ate like a little boy. It took us 6 weeks to throw the cereal boxes away.
When he moved back in, he was obsessed with Sleepytime Tea, ginger ale, cranberry juice, and beef jerky. Not all at once, but he would eat/drink some combination of these things every day. We still can't drink ginger ale.
When he was in Preschool, we thought he might have an issue with his vision because he thought every color was pink.
He was the only one in his Freshman Engineering class that could solve a wooden puzzle. Because he solved it, the whole class got an A on a test. He made a few lifelong friends because of that puzzle.
He could do a backflip on the trampoline and off of objects like bridges or raised walls.
You could not convince him that the word treadmill was not pronounced tread-meal. Not sure where he got that from, it was a holdover from his toddler years that stuck.
He was pulled out of almost every TSA security line for a pat-down, even when he was a pre-teen. We have no idea why. They never found anything on home other than toothpaste that he forgot to take out of his bag. We think it's one of the reasons he didn't love flying.
He had a weak stomach his whole life. We could never figure out what caused it.
He always wore athletic shorts under his jeans or pants.
After the first few days in Belize, he was no longer allowed to drive the golf cart because he rode people's bumpers so close that he actually tapped a few bumpers. It stressed his Mom out so badly that she wouldn't let him drive.
He kept getting in trouble in Elementary school after care for really silly things like jumping off a swing on the swing set or chewing on a ballon. We eventually had to get an after-school nanny because he was about to be kicked out of the program.
He had more X-rays in his 21 years than anyone should have in a lifetime. Feet, ankles, wrists, arms, he managed to hurt them all. But he only had 2 broken bones, an ankle and a toe.
Hi Mom was constantly sewing his clothes back together, especially his pants.
When he was in Middle School he was not allowed to leave school for lunch. He "made friends" with the security guard and went out to lunch all the time.
He wrote his name on the bathroom wall at Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo.
He got the brass ring on the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
He flew to NYC to move his girlfriend into her Sophomore year door at the Pratt Institute School of Art.
He'd been to see the most Colorado Sporting events including the Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids, Mammoth (indoor LAX), Outlaws (outdoor LAX), Cutthroats (minor league hockey), CU Buffaloes and CSU Rams football, University of Denver hockey, and the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail.
Most of his zippers on his hoodies were broken. We have no idea how he managed to break all of them, but it was a constant problem.
He was part of Cotillion for two years. He hated every minute of it. But, he did learn how to Fox Trot.
When he was little, he called Ginger Ale "spicy juice".
He LOVED the chicken at Robins Kitchen, San Pedro, Belize. If you've been, you know why.
He always had a black sharpie with him. ALWAYS.