A son of Holy Ghost Parish in Whitman, Father Leroy E. Owens died in Falmouth on Jan. 1, 2026. He was born in Whitman's larger neighbor, Brockton, on Oct. 30, 1935. He was the eldest of the five children of the late Leroy and Mary (Smith) Owens. He is survived by a brother Paul, and two sisters, Kathleen McCavitt and Anne Owens. A brother Robert predeceased him.

He entered the archdiocesan seminaries in 1956, and eight years later, on Feb. 6, 1964, Richard Cardinal Cushing ordained him and his classmates at Holy Cross Cathedral.

The cardinal gave him his first assignment as an assistant at St. Joseph Parish, Kingston.

In 1969, the cardinal named him as an associate at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Newton. In addition to the regular parish responsibilities, he took special interest in the parish high school and developed a well-deserved reputation for developing relationships with the students, their families, and the faculty. Those connections remained long after the students had moved away in the normal course of life and even as he moved to other assignments. That assignment lasted 13 years, during which two of them he served as the administrator of Newton Catholic High School and as the athletic director of the school.

In 1984, he was named parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Malden, remaining there for only a year when, in 1985, he was named chaplain at Marian High School, Framingham, with his residence at nearby St. Bridget rectory. As chaplain, he directed the liturgical life of the school and was part of the theology faculty.

Again, fitting in with the students especially but also the faculty and staff and the wider school community, he brought a gentle presence and a steady guiding ministry with him.

He remained on as a parochial vicar in Framingham for three years (1993-1996) after he ended his assignment at Marian High School.

In 1996, Bernard Cardinal Law named him pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Parish, Medfield. He remained at the parish for 18 years, until he was named a senior priest in June 2014.

His former altar boy from Newton, the late Father Michael W. MacEwen invited him to live in residence at the rectory of St. Linus Parish in Natick, one of the two parishes in the Natick Catholic Collaborative.

He remained there until some months ago when he moved to his family residence in Falmouth. Even in that retirement he was available until very recently to assist in local parishes.

Father Owens was a frequent visitor to Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton, for many years, following his transfer from there. He was often back for weddings of the young people he had come to know and who in turn admired and loved him. In some years, he witnessed more weddings at Newton than the four assigned priests combined. This earned him the nickname "Marrying Sam." In later years, the same phenomenon occurred at Framingham, and the nickname was applied there!

Father Owens was always happiest in his priestly ministry when he was out and about with people. But never more so than when he was present for those important times in their lives and for his parishioners at Mass and for the other sacraments he generously celebrated.

Father Owens's funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Falmouth, on Jan. 9, 2026. His friend, Jesuit Father Dennis Yesalonia, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish, New York, N.Y., was the principal celebrant and homilist.

Father Owens was buried with his family at St. James Cemetery, Whitman.