Willa White Owens

      In addition to Mrs. Markowski, Willa White Owens was another prominent Ohio lady player in the 1950s and 60s whom I remember seeing at tournaments on occasion. In the 1957 US Open held in Cleveland, Ohio, Mrs. Owens finished tied for places 99-112 with 5.5 pts. out of 12. She lost her second round game to the strong master Attilio DiCamillo

      According to a brief article on her by Batgirl at Chessdotcom she was born on April 13, 1910 in Ohio. Her first husband died in 1948 and she married her second husband, Ross Owens, in 1950. She had learned to play from her first husband around 1937 and met her second husband at a chess tournament. Both of them were rated in the 1700’s.  Mrs. Owens died May 26, 2003 in Wyanesburg, Pennsylvania. 

Mrs. White's Obit at Find-A-Grave

Milwaukee Journal article on Mrs. Owens