Charlene Marie Owens, 50 years old, of Stuart, Florida went to her heavenly home on March 28, 2023 following a courageous battle with bile duct cancer. She passed peacefully from this earth into the arms of Jesus in her own home with her beloved husband and two sons there.

Charlene is survived by her husband, Steve, her sons, Bryce and Connor, her parents, Jim & Joyce Olsen, her sisters and brothers in law, Brenda & Steve Dickerson, and Mary Ellen & Rick Huff, and her unofficially adopted sister and brother in law, Grant and Lenita Shillington, her nieces and nephews, Alex and Jessica Hendershot, Michael & Christina, Kaitlyn, Ethan, and Devin Huff, Luke & Brittany (Shillington) Stapleton, Travis, Christopher & Taylor, and Brianna Shillington, and great nieces and nephews, Ava & Marshall Huff, Brayleigh & Lillie Stapleton, Finnley & Hayden Shillington, and a whole host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her four grandparents – Jesse & Mary Kemmerer, Francis & Mary Olsen, her cousin Mike Kemmerer, and her Uncle Douglas Kemmerer.

Charlene was born on November 19, 1972, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to James & Joyce Olsen. Her big sisters, Brenda and Mary Ellen, were 4 and 5 years old and so happy to help their Mommy take care of her.

Charlene attended school from kindergarten through 12 ^th grade at Hobe Sound Christian Academy. During her junior year of high school, she started working part time at a general practitioner's office in Jupiter. She did such an excellent job that she quickly became the office manager and also a medical assistant. She worked in the medical field for many years.

On January 2, 1995, Charlene met the love of her life, Steve Owens, and on September 26,1998, they were married.  On October 26, 2000, they were delighted to welcome their first child, Bryce Stephen into their family.  Following the birth of their first son, Charlene switched to working at an office to working at home two days a week so she could enjoy just being a Mommy to Bryce the other days.  On July 28, 2003, their second son, Connor James Robert, was born. Connor was born with several special needs and spent a lot of time that first year in and out of the hospital and doctors' offices. Charlene stopped working and became Connor's 24/7 caregiver. Her greatest joy was being a full-time mom to her two boys. Charlene's years of working in the medical field ended up being a tremendous blessing as she navigated the world of having a son with special needs and multiple health issues.

Once both of her boys were in school, Charlene was heavily involved at her church, Christ Fellowship, volunteering in a variety of roles for about 7 years.  She did a lot of decorating and serving for various church events, she cooked and served lunches for the head core staff twice a month, she assisted with office work, and more.  For the following 7 years, she served at a non-profit organization that put-on camps a few times a year for children who lost their father in the line of duty in the military and loved getting to know the children and their moms.  For the past 15 years until now, besides her family, her two greatest passions have been serving those in the special needs community and the veterans community. She has loved helping at the The Hope Center for Autism where Connor is so well taken care of and loved on 5 days a week, and being on the board of Southeast Florida Honor Flight, where Veterans are taken to Washington D.C. for a once in a lifetime trip to receive the honor, love, and thanks they never received when they returned home.

In between all of that Charlene helped Steve run his business as well as baked countless desserts, and made and decorated beautiful cakes for so many – birthday cakes, baby and bridal showers, wedding cakes, and many other special occasions, and never charged her family and friends for those many, many hours she spent making them perfect. It was truly a labor of love. It wasn't unusual to walk in their home and see rows of delicious cupcakes or pans of brownies and trays of cookies lined up on the dining room table, ready for some event.

Charlene will always be remembered as someone who gave 100% to whatever she was helping with – whether it was being a wife and mom, a job she was working at, the church she attended, or the organizations she was volunteering for, she was all in to help however she could. Charlene was often working behind the scenes and not in the limelight but that never stopped her from giving it her best. Every organization she was a part of benefited from her involvement.  What a blessing she has been to so many! Charlene faced her battle with cancer the same way she faced other obstacles in her life – with courage and grace, with her strong faith in the God she served, and with her family by her side. You can read more about her story on Owens Odyssey on Facebook.

There is a well-known quote that says "Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same." Charlene's footprints are all over the hearts of so many and we are all better for having known her.

Visitation and a public viewing will be held on Thursday, March 30, 2023, between the hours of 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm at Hobe Sound Bible Church, 11295 SE Gomez Avenue, in Hobe Sound, Florida.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Hope Center for Autism ( www.hopecenterforautism.org ) or Southeast Honor Flight ( www.honorflightsefl.org ).

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Treasure Coast Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory.

Please feel free to share a remembrance or message of condolence with the family through this online guestbook.

For memorial video please copy and open link below:

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