Strickel, Owen T.

Owen T. Strickel, 86, of Cedar Rapids, fell asleep in death on March 22, 2012, at Northbrook Manor Care Center. Services: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on Mount Vernon Road SE. Elder Dan Paxton will officiate. Burial: Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery. Friends may call at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday.

Survivors include a son, Timothy of LaBelle, Mo.; daughters, d'Juana Abukaf and Taani El-Mam, both of Amman Jordan; nine grandchildren, Dwayne, Jeffrey, Crystal, Rachael, Shareen, d'Lyse, Lena, Amira and Noor; nine great-grandchildren, Haroun, Maria, Adam, Austin, Lydia, Aaron, Heather, Echo and Breeze; brothers, Gerald of San Diego, Calif., and Walter of Newbury Park, Calif.; and sisters, Joyce Bissell of Carmichael, Calif., and Janet Hendrickson of Citrus Heights, Calif.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son; wife; sister, Inola Strickel; and brother, Leroy.

Owen was born June 25, 1925, on a farm near Rowley, the oldest of seven children of Robert and Gertrude A. (Seward) Strickel. He married Billie Beaty on Dec. 15, 1962, in Cedar Rapids. They had one son, Owen Jr., who was stillborn. Owen adopted Billie's son, Timothy, and the couple adopted twin girls, d'Juana and Taani as babies on July 27, 1965.

Owen spent mot of his life working as a theater projectionist in Independence, Marion and Cedar Rapids. He worked many years at the Paramount Theatre which he loved dearly. In his later years he worked as a security guard for some 16 years, finally retiring at 80 years old.

He was a member of Jehovah's Witnesses-Pioneer Avenue Congregation in Cedar Rapids.

Please leave a message or tribute to Owen's family on the Web page, www.cedarmemorial.com under Obituary.

Published March 24, 2012 in The Gazette