Editor’s Note
I received a telephone call from Suzanne Owens on July 25 with sad news. Her husband of 57 years, Ed, had passed away one day earlier. She was calling because her family wanted to direct contributions in Ed’s memory to the PRP Alliance in lieu of flowers. Both Suzanne and Ed had joined our PRP Support Group in May 2022 and generously supported our fundraising efforts.

Ed’s PRP journey began in June 2018 during a follow-up visit after the removal of a kidney stone. His doctor observed a rash that Ed hadn’t noticed. It looked like measles. He reached out to a client who happened to be a PRP-savvy dermatologist who recognized pityriasis rubra pilaris. In 50 years the dermatologist had diagnosed and treated only three PRP patients. Ed was the fourth.

Suzanne reached out frequently to the PRP Support Group (aka the Land of Hope) between June 23, 2022 and May 22, 2023. She asked questions on topics ranging from edema and body temperature to balance and the affordability of biologics. Her questions always generated responses from a couple dozen PRP patients or caregivers.

Our kindest thoughts go out to Suzanne and her family.

William Edward “Ed” Owens

On September 4, 1939, at home in Burke, Virginia, Katherine Erskine and William Owens welcomed their son, William Edward Owens, to the world.

Ed moved to Utica, New York when he was seven years old, graduating from Proctor High School in 1957. He returned to Virginia to attend his beloved Virginia Tech, Class of ‘61, where he went on to become a Golden Hokie. Following college, he worked for ten years at Humble Oil (“Esso”) before he joined the life insurance industry with MassMutual Financial Services, retiring after more than fifty years.

Ed maintained lifelong friendships, fly fishing with childhood buddies and tailgating at VT football games with DKE fraternity brothers all through his life. Whether he was hunting, fishing, boating, gardening, birdwatching, woodworking, cooking Italian food, or preserving figs from his favorite tree, his quick wit and sense of humor were ever present. He was a plank owner and member of The Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach, sharing his time and talents where needed. He engaged in philanthropy through donations to various causes and as a member and past president of the Suburban Kiwanis Club. He was also an active member of the Tidewater Estate Planning Council.

In addition to his many hobbies and interests, Ed loved to read suspense, spy, and western novels, but nothing brought him more joy and happiness than his family. He will be missed beyond measure by his wife of fifty-seven years, Suzanne Shipp Owens, with whom he lived in Point-O-View throughout those years; his three daughters, Jody Hedstrom, Jennifer Quinn, and Denise Mercer; son-in-laws, Stephen Quinn and Randy Hedstrom; grandchildren, Sean Quinn, Max Barnocky, Caitlin Laycock and husband Seth, Dylan Hedstrom and wife Auguste, Drew Barnocky, and Wright Mercer; his precious great-grandsons, Quinn and Cope Laycock; and his siblings, extended family members, and friends.

Ed passed away on July 24, 2023 from complications of pityriasis rubra pilaris. A Celebration of Life Mass will be held for him on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 1:30 pm at The Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach. The family will greet friends at the church at 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the PRP Alliance. June