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A retired University of North Texas
professor who helped start the university's department of philosophy
and religious studies died Sunday from bone cancer.
Dr. Richard Owsley, 79, joined the UNT faculty in 1963 and helped
start the department in 1969. At Dr. Owsley's request, he will
not have a funeral service, but there will be a memorial service
at 5 p.m. March 7 at the Environmental Education, Science and
Technology Building, Room 110, at UNT.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Owsley also was known for hosting
an annual philosophy conference about the work of German philosopher
Martin Heidegger.
His friends and colleagues said Dr. Owsley loved to read and
educated himself on a variety of topics.
`It was like walking around with a library,` said Dr. Joe Barnhart,
a colleague since 1967. `That made him a great asset to the department.
Reading good books was a lot of his life.`
Dr. Owsley, a former chairman of the department, valued diversity
in the department, Dr. Barnhart said.
`Part of the reason he hired me was because he wanted a lot of
different viewpoints in the department,` Dr. Barnhart said. `We
had a lot of [scholarly] disagreement. But if you had a conversation
with him, you'd learn something.`
Keith Brown, Dr. Owsley's research assistant and friend, said
Dr. Owsley first became ill in 1999. Because Dr. Owsley's only
daughter lived in San Francisco, Mr. Brown became his caretaker,
making sure he got to doctor's appointments, class and anywhere
else he needed to go.
`People here will remember him for his dedication,` Mr. Brown
said. `He was here constantly, reading for class.`
Mr. Brown said in addition to reading, Dr. Owsley liked opera
and museums.
`I don't think there is a man, animal, creature or anything he
loved more in the whole world than books,` Mr. Brown said.
Dr. Owsley came to UNT from Auburn University in 1963. He retired
in 1995, but continued to teach. In 2000, he was named a professor
emeritus and taught at least one class through the end of the
fall semester.
He is survived by a daughter, Susan Owsley, and two granddaughters,
Heather and Shannon, all of San Francisco, Calif.
MATTHEW ZABEL can be reached at 940-566-6884.
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