Winston campus honors memory of Carol Owen

Carol Anne Owen may have lost her battle with ovarian cancer, but colleagues have made sure the longtime special education teacher's legacy will endure.

Tuesday, about 50 friends and family gathered at Winston Campus Junior High on what would have been Owen's 54th birthday.

They first renamed a section of the Palatine school the "O" wing in memory of the late Arlington Heights resident, who passed away June 19, 2008. The group then moved outdoors to the courtyard, where they dedicated a stone bench and planted flowers. Speakers included Principal Mary Baum, teacher Kathy Gailey and Owen's daughter, Shannon. A letter from a former student was also read.

"She was a teacher not just to her students but to her fellow teachers," Cindy Prisching said of her teaching partner. "She was so intelligent and really reached out to everybody."

Funding for the memorial, Prisching said, came from an annual holiday auction and from Choices, a school service club Owen sponsored. Owen worked as a learning disabilities and behavioral disorders teacher at the school since 1998.

Etched onto the bench are the words, "teacher, colleague, friend" as well as one of Owen's favorite sayings, "Yeah, Baby!"

"It was a phrase Carol loved to use," Prisching said. "It could really lighten up the moment."