Elaine Owens

Elaine Owens, 87, departed this life on December 13, 2025. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 2, 2026, First Missionary Baptist Church, Southern Pines. A viewing and visitation will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. prior to the service. Interment will follow be held at a later date at Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas City. Services are entrusted to Purcell Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Elaine Marie Browne Owens, an accomplished musician, educator, administrator, and faithful servant of God, entered this life on July 9, 1938, and passed into eternal rest on December 13, 2025, leaving a legacy defined by excellence, courage, and service. Born at Wheatley-Provident Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, the first hospital established to serve the city’s Black community, Elaine often reflected that she belonged to “the last generation under segregation,” a reality that shaped her lifelong commitment to justice, faith, and opportunity.

Raised in Kansas City, Kansas, Elaine was nurtured in a home rich in music, education, civic leadership and resilience, and from this heritage, she developed a strong sense of purpose and responsibility to serve others. Her parents, the late James H. Browne and Lucille Elaine King Browne, instilled in her a deep love for learning and service. Her mother, a teacher, pianist, and singer, recognized Elaine’s extraordinary musical gift when she was a young child. By the age of four, Elaine, a music prodigy, was playing harmonies on the piano and soon began formal study at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, launching a lifetime of musical excellence. 

In 1962, Elaine married the love of her life, Uriel Edward Owens. Their marriage was marked by devotion and perseverance, particularly as Uriel lived with sickle cell disease at a time when the illness was poorly understood. Elaine’s family played a significant role in national advocacy efforts that helped bring attention to sickle cell disease, contributing to the passage of the National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act in 1972. Uriel, a respected leader and public servant, preceded Elaine in death in 1980. 

Elaine and Uriel were devoted parents to their daughter Erica Elaine, whom Elaine proudly declared as her greatest accomplishment. Erica’s achievements in music, theater, and professional life were a constant source of joy and pride to both Uriel and Elaine. 

Music and education remained central throughout Elaine’s life. She earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Kansas in 1960 and later at K.U., earned a Master of Arts degree in Music Education. While attending K.U., she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority inc. For fourteen years, she served the Kansas City, Missouri School District, where she taught English, civics, and vocal music, shaping young minds and nurturing artistic talent. In 1968, she became co-owner of Progressive Music Studio in Kansas City, Kansas, where she, childhood friend Frances Bradley Robinson and the late Leon Brady provided music instruction to countless students after school hours.

Elaine’s professional life extended far beyond the classroom. She held positions with Patriott Management Services and Gap Care, Inc., and devoted many years to federal service. Most notably, she served with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where she rose to the position of Director of Program Operations in the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. In that role, she worked to uphold civil rights protections and ensure equal access to housing—work that aligned seamlessly with her lived experience and lifelong advocacy for fairness and dignity. 

In parallel with her professional achievements, Elaine rendered extraordinary service to the Church, respectively. She served as Minister of Music at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Kansas, for more than forty years, guiding worship and elevating sacred music across generations. She also served as organist and assisted music ministry for churches throughout Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska, offering her gifts wherever they were needed. 

Later in life, despite serious challenges with glaucoma that ultimately ended her corporate career, Elaine continued to serve through music and ministry. After relocating to North Carolina for medical treatment, she met Lisa Thomas her hair stylist who introduced her to Shuris Campbell and First Missionary Baptist Church in Southern Pines where she became organist and Minister of Music. In 2005, she began what would become a long and meaningful ministry as keyboardist for Sandhills Assembly of God, where she quietly bridged racial and denominational lines through worship and friendship.

Throughout her life, Elaine received numerous awards and honors recognizing her excellence in music, education, public service, and ministry. While she rarely spoke of these accolades, she cherished the relationships and lives touched far more than the recognition itself.

When she faced her last health challenges; Pastor Joshua Haire, cousins John and June King Jr., Kathy Hyde, James and Janet Gillis, Ronnie Durrant, Lisa Thomas, Deacon Halbert Kearns, James and Vera Burke, Bertha Shaw and more helped her almost every week. Margo Washington and niece Karen Owens made her some of her favorites like cornbread.

Elaine Marie Browne Owens leaves behind a legacy of faith, leadership, and unwavering service expressed through music, justice, education, and love. Her life was a testimony, and her song will continue to echo in the hearts of all who knew her. She leaves to cherish her memory, her devoted daughter, Erica Elaine, who was also her steadfast and loving caregiver; her sister, Rosalyn Anita Browne Welch of Kansas City, Kansas; her God daughter, Teia Smith Bennett of Kansas City, Kansas and her cousins. Through her marriage to Uriel she leaves behind bonus sisters: Colleen Pilson of Indio, California, Virginia Kirkwood of Kansas City, Kansas, Frances Delores Haywood of Carson, California and Sandra Winder of Kansas City, Kansas. A Bonus brother William "Billy Duck" Owens (Alta) of Douglassville, Texas; nephews, nieces, and a host of more cousins affectionately called "the kinfolk." She leaves behind amazing ànd loving friends including her surrogate "grandbaby" Nicole Fraser. Among those closest to her heart was her friend since childhood, Evelyn Swancy of Atlanta, Georgia.

Each morning, Elaine grounded herself in Proverbs 3:5–6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” That scripture was not only her daily devotion but the guiding principle of her life. 

 May she rest in sweet, sweet peace. 

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