Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Ben Edwin Owens Sr., a transformational healthcare leader who guided St. Bernards Medical Center through nearly four decades, died on Saturday, June 27, at the age of 92.
His passing marks the end of an era for Northeast Arkansas medicine and closes a chapter on a career that fundamentally changed how healthcare is delivered across the region.
Widely known as “Mr. Owens” by those who worked with him, he took the reins of the healthcare organization in July 1972. At the time, St. Bernards was a 252-bed community hospital. For the next 38 years, Owens steered the institution through unprecedented growth.
Under his stewardship, St. Bernards expanded into a 400-plus-bed regional safety-net and acute-care referral center serving 23 counties. Owens retired in 2010 as the organization’s first president and chief executive officer.
“No one did it better,” said longtime Jonesboro businessman Tommy Rankin. “Ben Owens was one of a kind, an icon. No one else like him.”
During his tenure, Owens worked to introduce critical specialties for local patients that previously had to travel to Memphis or Little Rock for care. He guided the addition of the region’s first comprehensive cardiovascular and cancer care programs, behavioral health networks, rural health clinics, and a specialized women’s diagnostic center.
Among his many achievements, colleagues often pointed to his spearheading of the capital campaign that brought a dedicated cancer treatment facility to Jonesboro. In recognition of that effort, the city proclaimed an official “Ben Owens Day” in 1989. The St. Bernards Board of Governors permanently named the facility the Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Center.
“He incited me to come to the hospital one day with then-ASU President Dr. Les Wyatt,” Rankin recalls. “He was meeting with a futurist. He had three plats: one each of the hospital, the university, and downtown. He was trying to imagine what Jonesboro would be 20, 30, 40 years down the road. That was the kind of guy he was. Always thinking. Always dreaming.”
Beyond the walls of the medical center, Owens served as the president of the Arkansas Hospital Association, was a long-term trustee for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and served on advisory councils for both the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas State University.
Locally, Owens’ civic footprint helped shape modern Jonesboro. He served as president of the Greater Jonesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, helped co-found the economic development group Jonesboro Unlimited, and was a driving force behind the creation of the Matthews Medical Mile. His leadership helped champion the city’s major physical expansions in recent times.
“Mr. Owens had many qualities that made him the exceptional leader St. Bernards needed for nearly four decades,” said Chris Barber, current president and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare. “He was humble, principled, disciplined, vision-minded, capable, and empowering. Most importantly, he was a good man of faith who deeply loved his family and community. I had the unique privilege to know him as both a mentor and friend. His example continues to guide how we lead, carry responsibility, and invest in the next generation of leaders. Our hearts are with the Owens family at this time.”
For his decades of commitment, Owens received honorary doctorates from both Lyon College and Arkansas State University, as well as the Dr. Tom Bruce Arkansas Health Impact Award from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.
Owens was a man of deep faith and frequently noted that one of the most meaningful aspects of his life was his close partnership with the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Holy Angels Convent, whose foundational mission of Christ-like community healing he carried forward in his own life.
| READ MORE: The Spotlight | A Day in the Life of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters
Owens is survived by his wife, Dixie Lucille Owens; his sister, Mary Kay Grossman; his son, Dr. Ben Owens Jr.; his daughter, Nancy Owens; and his grandchildren.
A public visitation is scheduled for Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gregg-Langford-Bookout Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to St. Bernards Foundation and First United Methodist Church. Owens’ obituary can be viewed online.
