Jane DuKate Matthes Owen

Jane DuKate Matthes Owen, 90, of Biloxi, MS died on Monday, August 16, 2010. Mrs. Owen was a native of Biloxi, born on July 6, 1920 in the house of her maternal grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. W. K. DuKate on Howard Ave. where the B.R.M.C. stands today. Mrs. Owen was a graduate of Biloxi High School and Auburn University where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta and Décor. She was honored to be selected Queen Ixolib in 1946, the first Mardi Gras in ten years, after WWII. She became a member of the facility of Dukate Elementary School, named for her grandfather, and taught there until retiring in 1984. She was a member of the Miramar Garden Club, past president of the Biloxi Council of Garden Clubs. Mrs. Owen was a member of the Church of the Redeemer, Saint Mary's Guild, and directress of the Altar Guild. Mrs. Owen's parents were the late Beula DuKate and Carl E. Matthes, architect for many of Biloxi's buildings. She is also preceded in death by her sister, Lienhard "Lynn" Browder; brother, Carl E. Matthes. She is survived by her daughter, Malinda Lienhard Dumal of Biloxi and her son-in-law, Stephen; four nephews and two nieces. Funeral services will be on Friday, August 20, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. at the Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home. Friends may visit from 1:00 p.m. until service time. Interment will follow in Southern Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers the family prefers memorials to: The Humane Society of South MS, 2615 25th Ave., Gulfport, MS 39501, Church of the Redeemer, 610 Water St., Biloxi, MS 39530 or The "Old Brick House", City of Biloxi, 780 Esters Blvd., Biloxi, MS 39530.