Tributes

Joe Wayne Owings born on March 8, 1935 passed away on January 21, 2005 at the age of 69. Joe was raised by his aunt and uncle Monnie Lou and Henry Zuercher. His mother died from complications of childbirth. His father worked on oilrigs and was a welder and crane operator so had to travel to various jobs. At her request, Joe called his Aunt Monnie Mother. Joe worked in the Zuerchers café until he was old enough to work at Dixons Service Station. After graduating from Burbank High School, Joe got a job at a chrome plating company and worked there until he was employed at City Public Service CPS in May 1955. He retired from City Public Service June 1, 1995. During the time he was at CPS, he also served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as Electrician Third Class Petty Officer. Joe worked hard, and in addition to working overtime at CPS whenever needed, he did electric work after regular work hours. Woodrow Templeton, an electrician at Kelly Air Force Base, taught Joe some fundamentals of residential and commercial wiring. Joe started out at CPS climbing poles and working high voltage lines. At the time of his retirement, he had been promoted to Apartment House Foreman. Joe got his drivers license when he was 14. He loved auto racing. He raced stock cars in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, the Valley, and other places. He was winning trophies until A.J. Foyt came on the scene and he was competing against A.J. Foyt. Joe also liked to deep-sea fish at the coast, and hunt. He fished and hunted with his father John Clifton Shorty Owings, his Uncle Henry Zuercher, Ernestines Uncle Woodrow Templeton, and his friends. He hunted in Texas and Colorado. Woodrow Templeton introduced Joe to his niece Ernestine Hazel Steitle. Joe and Ernestine married June 14, 1958. Joe bought a 16 boat and motor and fished and water-skied at various lakes and rivers. Ernestine had no interest in fishing and skiing so eventually Joe traded his boat for a Quarter Horse Stallion. They bought some Paint mares and a Paint stallion, and that began Joes career with horses. They showed horses all over Texas, and sometimes in Oklahoma and Louisiana. At that time, Paint Horse Shows were so far away that Joe and Ernestine, along with a friend from Uvalde, formed the South Texas Paint Horse Club to get shows in the south Texas area. They were instrumental in getting Paints into the San Antonio Livestock Exposition. Joe served on the board of directors and as president of the South Texas Paint Horse Club. He also served on the board of directors of the American Paint Horse Association. In 2001, Joe and Ernestine received a Distinguished Service Award from the American Paint Horse Association APHA. At that time, only 17 people had received the award since the APHA was formed in 1962. And in 1969 and 1970 they received a letter of appreciation from the San Antonio Livestock Exposition. In 1969, Joe and Ernestine bought farm and ranch property. They moved to the property the first part of 1970 and began raising cattle, Paint, Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses, Collie dogs, and hay. During the time Joe lived at 943 Isom Road, he worked at CPS, wired houses and commercial buildings, showed horses at horse shows, and he and Ernestine completely remodeled their 1920s house. They had worked so hard remodeling the house that when a potential buyer said he was going to destroy the house into which they had put so much work, they sold the land only, and took the house with them to the ranch they bought. In Joes later years, work on the ranch and problems with his health forced him to almost completely stop showing their horses. He continued to serve on the board of directors and committees of the American Paint Horse Association up until his death.

Tributes

Joe Wayne Owings

March 8, 1935 - January 21, 2005