Marcus Alan Owens
Marcus Alan Owens passed away on August 26, 2025, surrounded by love and admiration, at his family's summer home on the shore of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York, where he had vacationed since childhood. Marcus was a talented academic, artist, architect, athlete, and outdoorsman, as well as a loving son, brother, husband, and father. He was 42 years old.
Marcus was born on November 28, 1982, in Washington, DC, the son of Marcus S. and Vera Owens. Growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, Marcus was always on a team: baseball, basketball, and track in middle and high school, rugby and crew in college. Marcus also loved music, attending concerts, forming a rock band with friends, and playing in his high school jazz band. As an adult, Marcus surfed, hiked, and biked. Proficient in several languages, Marcus was an avid traveler, visiting countries all over the world as part of his studies, projects, and family adventures.
After completing his undergraduate degree at Bates College, Marcus earned a Master of Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He then continued his studies, earning a Master of Design Studies, with a concentration in Urbanism, Landscape, and Ecology from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. While at Harvard, he and fellow student Christina Antiporda began a relationship that led to their marriage. Together, Marcus and Christina formed CAMO design studio, which implemented placemaking projects in conjunction with government agencies and community organizations. A beautiful example was Kapwa Gardens, a beloved community center in the Pilipinas Cultural District of San Francisco; with their new baby in tow, Marcus and Christina led a group of local volunteers to transform a desolate parking lot into an outdoor wellness, arts, and events oasis filled with a combination of native plants and Calamansi trees. It became a beloved cultural center in the Pilipinas District of San Francisco. He was awarded a PhD in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.
From San Francisco, Marcus's young family moved to Moscow, Idaho, where he had positions at the US Forest Service in Kamiah and at Washington State University as an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture. At the Forest Service, Marcus designed the landscape surrounding the new Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest Supervisor's building in Kamiah. Marcus's knowledge of the region prompted a design focus for his Washington State University Landscape Architecture Studio class, challenging students to incorporate the interests of the Nez Perce tribal homeland, the Kamiah community, and the Clearwater River waterfront in local projects.
Marcus was a loyal, appreciative friend who valued his many long-standing, deep connections with kindred spirits, prioritizing time to connect and converse out on the waves surfing or in the dry heat of a sauna. He was a loving, thoughtful, generous, steadfast son and brother. As a husband and father, devotion to his family was paramount. During the time Marcus shared with his wife and daughters, he gave them beautiful, nurturing experiences, both in their daily routines and on their many adventures in spectacular parks and landscapes. "Dada" was always there to provide early morning hugs, bounces, stories, songs, walks, and play, with afternoon excursions to all the parks and playgrounds in town. He was the chef of apple oatmeal on weekdays and pancakes on the weekend, and bountiful dinners from his trusty Instant Pot or his prized backyard smoker. Marcus's daughters beheld many beautiful sights from atop their tall father's shoulders: the streets of San Francisco; the blooming cherry trees in Washington, DC; many forest paths and rocky trails all over the country; and the flowers and trees along the sidewalk route to preschool in Idaho. Marcus passed on his fascination with the natural world to Rosie and Teddie, and his perceptiveness, creativity, and perseverance are already apparent in them - gifts that will live on.
Marcus is survived by his wife, Christina Owens; daughters, Simona Rose and Katharine Teodula Owens; parents, Vera and Marcus S. Owens; siblings, Emily Owens (Mathew Freedman) and Christopher Owens; parents-in-law, Lea and Celso Antiporda; three nieces; and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Rose and Alfred Szary, and his paternal grandparents, Katharine and Marcus O. Owens, Jr.
In lieu of sending flowers, please consider donating to one of these organizations: Arbor Day Foundation, Glioblastoma Foundation.