Cleveland Owens, Jr., 81, passed on December 12,2021. He was born to Cleveland and Tommie Lee Owens in Texarkana, Arkansas on February 11,1940. He is predeceased by his parents and his only sibling and brother, George Owens. He relocated to Compton California at the age of15 and lived with his aunt, Emma Smith (second mom), who also proceedes him in death.

He is survived by his lovely wife of 51 years, Addie Mae Owens. Together they raised 3 children: Cleveland Owens III (Special friend Debra), of Fresno CA, Tammie Gibbs (Elvis), of Victorville CA, Woodetta Maulana (Omari), of Fircrest WA. He is also survived by 6 grandchildren: Cleveland Owens IV, Ugene Gibbs, Jeremiah Gibbs, Renee Maulana, Omari Maulana, Niani Maulana and two great grandchildren. He leaves to cherish his memory, his last living aunt, Elizabeth Acker, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and special cousins who were like brothers and sisters.

Cleveland accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized at College Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Texarkana, Arkansas. He graduated from Compton High School in 1958 and was a retired butcher. After retiring, he then went on to own and operate "Superior Maintenance and Janotorial."

He was passionate about affecting the most positive change in people and was ordained a Deacon. He enjoyed calling to Arkansas, and would talk with his mother for hours about the Word of God. Everyone knew of his devotion to God, and whenever there was a biblical question, folks would reach out to Cleveland and seek his wisdom of the Word. Although, he was no longer able to serve in the church, he remained a member of New True Faith Baptist Church in Compton, California.

As a young boy it seemed he was always into something. He was a Boy Scout, he won yo-yo contests two years in a row, learned to whistle songs and pop chewing gum. You could just imagine him playing outside or sitting on the porch practicing to perfection. He spoke fondly of going to the country in the summers to visit his grandparents, and would get tickled talking about all the mischief he would get into. As an adult he learned to play the harmonica, was a body builder, loved to fish and perfected his bar-b-q game- didn't need teeth to eat his meat. He also sang in the infamous church choir F.A.M.E., for over 5 years.

The aforementioned described Cleveland's tenacity, commitment and dedication to all that he did. He was a devoted husband to his wife Addie, and was loyal to his family and friends. He was surely a man of his word. His yes was yes and his no was no. Once he made a commitment, he was all in and did not waver. He was absolutely someone you could always depend on. He had a big personality and was full of life. It was hard to be down when Clevenad was around. Most importantly, if Cleveland was able to talk with us today, he would say, "that there is just a body, I have gone on home, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."