Sue Jo Owen

The Rev. Susan Jo Owen was born in Vincennes, Indiana, on Friday, July 13, 1945. She died unexpectedly February. 17, 2026. Sue grew up in her beloved town of Cazenovia in upstate New York. She attended Indiana University, graduating in 1969 (Go Hoosiers!). She arrived in Oregon in 1975 and her daughter Vanessa was born in 1976. Later Sue received an MSW from Portland State University and worked for Child Protective Services in Oregon.

Sue entered ministry in the early 1980s and attended San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, California, receiving her Master of Divinity (MDiv) in 1985. She was ordained in The United Methodist Church and served congregations in Medford, Astoria, Ashland, Bend, Salem, and Lebanon, Oregon. During her ministry she served as a District Superintendent in Central Oregon and Portland.

She and the Rev. Jim Monroe married in 2001. Best friends! They took their first team to Kenya in 2006. They moved to Maua, Kenya, in 2012, returning to the United States in 2015 - grandkids will do that! Sue and Jim continued taking teams to Kenya every year, most recently in July.

At the time of her death, Sue and Jim were serving Astoria United Methodist Church, which she saw as coming full circle in her lifelong service to Christ and the church.

Sue is survived by her husband, Jim Monroe; her daughter, Vanessa; her daughters Trish and Nina; and sons-in-law Travis and Tim. As a blended family, Sue loved her circle of loved ones deeply. She is survived by six grandchildren - Ava, Carter, Micah, Cora, Ethan, and Finley - her brother Patrick; sisters-in-law Janet Owen, Mary Anne LeCompte, and Glenda Monroe; brothers-in-law Bill Monroe and Tim LeCompte; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Sue loved dogs, birds, and any living creature, and had a wide, global circle of dear friends. She loved Cathlamet, having moved there in 2023.

Her life was a living witness to God's grace and love, and she would ask only that we all use kind words with each other. Those who received cards and calls from her over the years felt that love.

Sue's Celebration of Life will be held at Woodburn United Methodist Church in Woodburn, Oregon, on April 11 at 11:00 a.m., with a gathering and lunch to follow. Memorial gifts may be sent to Astoria United Methodist Church, 1076 Franklin Avenue, Astoria, OR 97103 to continue her work in Kenya.