Stein Owre

Stein Owre, age 76, passed away peacefully at his summer home on Maple Lake, Mentor, MN, on September 14, 2016. Stein, a native of Norway, spent his summers at his beloved lake house and most recently, his winters in Littleton, Colorado. Stein was born in Oslo, Norway, on Sept. 4, 1940 and was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. In Oslo, he completed Archum at Ullern Skole. During his secondary school years, he represented the Oslo Tennis Club in many tennis tournaments, winning various championships and playing on the Norwegian Davis Cup Tennis Team. He was also a Norwegian junior champion in ballroom dancing. Following high school graduation, Stein fulfilled his mandatory military service obligation and was selected to serve in the Norwegian Kings Guard, guarding King Olaf. After serving his eighteen months in the Kings Guard, he decided to travel and worked as an upper deck purser on an America-Norwegian cruise liner that sailed around the world. Stein sailed for a year and then moved to California to live with his uncle and attend Orange Coast College, Huntington Beach, CA. While playing tennis there, he was recruited by the University of Wyoming and was offered a full four-year scholarship to play on their varsity tennis team. Stein played on the team for four years, serving as captain for three of those years. While at the University of Wyoming, he was also elected as an officer in the W Athletic Club, and was selected, based on his academic achievement, as a member of Alpha Kappa Psi Business Honorary. Stein was also an accomplished skier and took many day trips to ski with his Norwegian buddies from the University. It was during one of these trips that he met a fellow student and his future bride, DeAnne Wellman, from Denver, Colorado, who had missed her ride back to campus from the ski resort. Stein and his friends offered to give her a lift back to campus and the rest is history. They continued their courtship through the rest of their college years, with Stein being honored by her sorority as the Kappa Kappa Gamma Dream Man. Stein graduated from the U. of Wyoming with a bachelor degree in business. He and DeAnne were married in Denver at Montclair United Methodist Church on August 28, 1965. They moved to Arizona, where he attended the American Institute for Foreign Trade (currently Thunderbird School of Global Management) in Glendale, Arizona. He graduated third in his class with an advanced degree in international sales and marketing. Following graduation, Stein was hired as a Sales Engineer with Cummins Engine Company, Columbus, Indiana, and also served as a sponsor in the Junior Achievement program in Columbus. After his first child, Kristin Michelle, was born, the family moved to Norway for three years. There, he worked for Holst and Fleischer, A.S. followed by Timex International as a regional manager for Northern Europe. Timex moved the family to their headquarters in Monte Carlo, Monaco where his daughter, Nina Lynn, was born. After a short while, Timex moved them to Lausanne, Switzerland. The Owre family lived in Europe for seven years before moving back to the U.S. to Cumberland and then North Smithfield, Rhode Island. There, Stein accepted a position as Director- International Sales and Marketing, Speidel Watch Bands. After several years with Speidel, Stein started his own import/export company, Nor-Am International, followed years later by a position as Director Int. Sales and Marketing, Quill Writing Instruments, Johnston, RI. Stein and his wife lived in RI for 38 years, raising their two daughters, hosting countless international visitors, and enjoying Newport, Boston, and the beaches of Rhode Island. Stein had many friends there, and continued playing tennis several nights a week for many of those years. After retiring, Stein and DeAnne, now also known as Pappa and Mimi, moved to be with their daughters and families in Denver, Colorado, where they recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. Stein lived a colorful and full life. He spoke five languages, travelled in business roles to over 100 countries, and lived in six states and six countries. He was known as a bright, bigger than life personality who was adventurous, quick witted, a great story teller, caring and generous. Stein was a devoted father and friend, serving as a cheerleader for his daughters sporting events and wifes academic and professional endeavors. He cherished his family and friends throughout the world and he will be missed by many. He is preceded in death by his mother, Evelyn Mimi Holdorf, and his father, Anton Johannes Owre. He is survived by his wife, DeAnne Wellman Owre, his daughters, Kristin Owre Zinis (Yani Zinis) and Nina Owre Bonn (Michael Bonn) of Denver, six grandchildren (Sofia Zinis, Gabrielle Zinis, Stella Zinis; Isabella Bolton, Will Bolton, Michael Bonn of Denver, his brothers, Tor Holdorf (Irene Holdorf) and Fridtjov Owre (Anne Owre) of Norway and many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins. Memorial services will be held at the Rodness Church, Erskine, MN on October 14, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. and the Montclair United Methodist Church, Denver Colorado November 12, 2016, 2:00 p.m.