My father has 9 children (of which I am the youngest), 23 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. In addition other family members who have lost their fathers call him Dad, and many kids in Hoonah refer to him as Papa Owen.
“He always believed in us even in the hardest and most unbelievable situations. He would ask if anything was too hard for us to accomplish and we would laugh and say ‘no’. He is proud of us all and believes in all of us. He truly is a powerful and amazing father.”
Keira James
“I remember when we moved to Hoonah… Our mom took us, brought us there because she had a boyfriend there. But shortly after we got to Hoonah, he passed and we ended up not really having a father figure. So, he [Owen] kind of took us under his wing and helped raise us. We were only like six years old. So he helped raise us. We started calling him dad, even though he was our uncle and, Lyle and all of them, we started calling sisters, brother.”
Carol haube
Dad loves his grandkids and great grandkids!
Some people call my father the baby whisperer because he seems to be able to calm down any baby. They sense his calmness, but he also sings a simple Tlingit lullabye to them.
