Mayor Proposes Street Renaming to Honor Chester and Lillie Owens
Published on June 03, 2024
Wyandotte County’s most renowned historians and civil rights freedom fighters, Mr. Chester Owens, at 92 years of age, is planning on moving from Kansas City, Kansas to the east coast with family.
Mr. Chester Owens, and his deceased wife, Lillie Anne Owens, brought Martin Luther King Jr. to KCK; they devoted decades of activism, volunteerism, rallies, board memberships, municipal service, community engagement, mentoring, neighborhood leadership, and historic Wyandotte County educational seminars to all that loved this community both near and far.
Mr. and Mrs. Owens come from an era where faith, family, education, honesty, dignity, respect, integrity, loyalty, hard work, volunteerism, and love of community where pivotal in the lives of the greatest generation in American society. They displayed a genuine love for all people and devoted the greater portion of their adult lives seeking a better and more equitable Wyandotte County for everyone that chooses to call our awesome community home.
The UG Commissioners will be presented with a recommendation to rename 12th Street adjacent to his home, Chester and Lillie Owens Lane at the June 6th, 7:00 pm Commission meeting before he departs from our community to finally retire from fighting the “good fight” in KCK.
Please join us in championing the legacy of Mr. Chester and Lillie Owens by advocating our commissioners to support the renaming of the street in he and his beloved wife’s honor.