THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606210454
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 47 lines
Dr. Zack Doxey Owens, 91, of the 500 block of W. Church St., died Wednesday, June 19, 1996, in the Guardian Care Nursing Home.
He was a native of Jarvisburg, N.C., and was a member of the Christ Episcopal Church. Dr. Owens was the son of the late William Littlejohn and Anne Etheridge Owens and the widower of the late Martha Anderson Owens.
Dr. Owens attended public schools in Elizabeth City and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Medicine from the North Carolina School of Medicine in 1928. In 1930 he graduated from the University of Maryland Medical School with Doctor of Medicine degree. He interned and later became assistant resident surgeon at Mercy Hospital, Baltimore. In 1932 and 1933 he was chief resident surgeon at the University Hospital in Baltimore.
He then returned to Elizabeth City where he began his private practice. During this time he was instrumental in the building of the Albemarle Hospital on North Road St. He established a fund to help needy students in their education for the nursing profession. He also established a professorship of surgery at the Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He served as medical director of the Sudan Shrine Temple in New Bern for over 50 years.
The first ICU was established in 1963, after the death of his wife, in her memory. Dr. Owens' wife, Martha, a registered nurse, technologist and anesthetist became his full-time partner. He was always interested in cancer research and operations and served on the board of directors of the North Carolina Cancer Society. He organized a ``Cured Cancer Patient Congress'' to show that with early detection and treatment patients could live much longer and many could be cured. He was recognized as a fellow of the International College of Surgeons before leaving the National Cancer Institute of Brazil where he observed their procedures and methods.
Dr. Owens maintained active membership in the American Medical Association, Southern Medical Association, Southeastern Surgical Congress and the International College of Surgeons, past president of The Seaboard Medical Society of Virginia and North Carolina, past president of The North Carolina State Medical Society, and a 60-year member of the Pasquotank Tribe (NU)8 Improved Order of Red Men.
He is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Twiford's Memorial Chapel. A private burial will follow in Hollywood Cemetery. The family requests that flowers please be omitted and memorial donations be made to one's favorite charity. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today in Twiford's Memorial Chapel and at other times at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Jones, 108 Riverview Ave., Camden, N.C.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB