Genevieve Owens, 87, loved her city

GENEVIEVE ROSE Derham Owens was a Philly gal through and through. Lived most of her life in Overbrook. Married a guy from Manayunk. Loved Frank Rizzo. Loved the Phillies. Devoted to her family and church.

And then there was the obligatory teenage summer job in Wildwood. Working at old Philly institutions, Curtis Publishing and Strawbridge & Clothier. Jitterbugging with friends at parties.

And finally to die with nuns around her bed singing "Jesus, Remember Me."

Genevieve died Tuesday at the Holy Family Home, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Southwest Philadelphia, where she had lived for the past six years. She was 87.

She was such a familiar figure walking through her neighborhood that she was called the "Mayor of Overbrook."

She walked everywhere, including to her church, Our Lady of Lourdes, 63rd Street and Lancaster Avenue.

"I'll bet she made that four-block walk 10,000 times," said one of her sons, Joseph P. Owens.

Each morning, she walked to Kenny's Diner, at 63rd and Lancaster, for coffee and muffins. Sometimes, family members accompanied her.

"It was like there was a booth with her name on it," said her son, who is editor of the Express-Times of Easton.

Her fondness for Frank Rizzo, the late police commissioner and mayor, stemmed from the fact that to her he represented law and order and civility.

She got a thrill when Rizzo was running for mayor and Joseph took her to a rally at 66th and Lebanon. The intersection was jammed with Rizzo fanatics, and Genevieve was one of them.

In the early '70s, the steam plant that provided heat to the neighborhood went out of business. It was Rizzo, then mayor, who saved the day by providing low-interest loans to get gas heat to the houses.

Genevieve was a passionate fan of opera and ballet. As a child, she had dreamed of being a ballet dancer and took dancing lessons into her teen years.

She had to settle for being an expert at modern dances, especially the now-defunct gymnastic jitterbug, which she taught to all of her children.

Genevieve was born in Philadelphia to Joseph P. and R. Genevieve Derham. She graduated from Mater Misericordiae Academy, now Merion Mercy Academy, on Montgomery Avenue in Merion, to which she walked every day. She also spent two years at Immaculata College on a full scholarship.

In her teens, she worked summers at the Bang-Bang in Wildwood, a Jersey shore hot spot in the '30s and '40s, as a cashier.

In Philly, she held a number of jobs, including proof reader at Curtis Publishing and publisher of the Saturday Evening Post. She worked at Strawbridges and Our Lady of Lourdes rectory, where she did the laundry for the priests. She also worked as an assistant to her late brother, Dr. Robert J. Derham.

During World War II, she was a statistical clerk for the Army. In 1947, she married Thomas J. Owens, a veteran. He died in 1978.

Another big thrill for Genevieve was about 10 years ago when son Joseph took her to the State Theater in Easton, where she got to hear Jose Carrera, one of the famed "Three Tenors," who performed opera arias to great acclaim. (The other two were Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti).

"She was totally thrilled," Joseph said.

Genevieve was a member of the Philadelphia Archdiocese's Association of Priest Parents, and the Legion of Mary.

Besides her son, she is survived by another son, Msgr. Thomas J. Owens; three daughters, Genevieve R. Miceli, Judith A. Owens and Cecilia M. Bowers; and 11 grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 11 a.m. tomorrow at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 6315 Lancaster Ave. Friends may call at 7 this evening at the Donohue Funeral Home, 8401 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.

Donations may be made to Holy Family Home, 5300 Chester Ave., Philadelphia 19143.