Owen Thomas

About this episode

Owen Thomas was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he lived most of his 96 years. His grandfather was a dairy farmer, and eventually, 14-year-old Owen and his brother took over the farm, which became the Thomas Brothers Dairy Farm. He graduated from Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State University) in 1952. Owen left Stillwater for the Korean War, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, becoming a company commander of a rifle division. He took over his father’s Ford dealership in 1975 when he was 45 years old, and continued to operate until he was 85. Beyond the dealership, Owen had a vision for real estate. When Stillwater was only about 4 miles wide with mostly dusty or muddy roads, he…