Rebecca Owens brings one of Jessie Owens’ beloved animals into the ring at a memorial show Saturday, July 30, during the Phillips County Fair junior livestock sale. — Darci Rodriguez | The Holyoke Enterprise
‘A true lover of livestock’
“We know you’d be here if heaven weren’t so far away.”
The handwritten sign hung on a stall in the Bank of Colorado Pavilion at the Phillips County Fairgrounds. Amidst the fun, the competition and the camaraderie at the Phillips County Fair, there was one thing undeniably missing: Jessie Owens.
The Holyoke 16-year-old who died in a car accident March 21 was not at the fair but was certainly not forgotten. Her family and friends organized a memorial show in her honor at the conclusion of the junior livestock sale Saturday, July 30.
“Jessie was a true lover of livestock,” said auctioneer Josh Larson at the start of the memorial show. Shortly before her accident, Jessie had a barn full of animals or had animals picked out from elsewhere that she wanted to raise and show at this year’s fair.
Since then, Rebecca Owens, who is Jessie’s sister, and her fiance, Kyle VanPelt, have been working with Jessie’s steer and heifer. Mac and Maggie, who were named by Jessie, came from her own herd of cattle that she had dedicated countless hours to.
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