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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThey began traveling the treacherous mountain roads between Knoxville and Charlotte prior to Interstate 40 being built so they could see one another and were married the next August in 1968. After Randy graduated from UTK, the newlyweds moved to Florida for two years but longed to be near family, so they moved to Randy\u2019s childhood home in Nashville. Two years later, they moved back to Shelbyville, where Randy opened the Randy Owen Insurance Agency on the square until his retirement 47 years later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barbara said, \u201cMy father was Dr. Taylor Farrar. He was an Army doctor, and my mother, Macye, was an Army nurse. They moved to Shelbyville in 1945 to open his medical practice. He was also the team physician for the Shelbyville Central High School Golden Eagle football team for 47 years. My dad\u2019s office was located where they are currently remodeling the building for the Grindstone Cowboy, and Randy\u2019s office was on the opposite corner. For most of my life, my livelihood has come from the \u2018square\u2019 around the Bedford County Courthouse. First from my dad and then later from Randy. We are also both members of the Shelbyville First United Methodist Church, so most of our life revolves around this square.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barbara earned a teaching degree from UTK and a master\u2019s in special education from Middle Tennessee State University. Before her retirement, she taught in special education for 42 years. For the last 32 years, she has played the piano and the organ at the Whiteside United Methodist Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the Owens didn\u2019t have children, their family consists of 18 nieces and nephews that they have loved and adored as their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have three sets of twins, and my daddy was a twin. We have a boy and a girl twin, plus two girls and two boys. They are all part of our family. We\u2019ve changed their diapers, carried them back and forth to school, and attended countless school and sporting events. So, though we didn\u2019t have children, we never missed out on being parents,\u201d said Barbara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only have the Owens invested their lives into their extended family, but they have also loved and nurtured the less fortunate through the community soup kitchen that the Shelbyville First United Methodist Church started several years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Barbara recalled, \u201cThat first night, we fixed enough food to feed 100 people, and maybe 20 people came to eat. We packed it up and delivered it to others within our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to relationship advice, Randy said, \u201cGet involved in a church,\u201d to which Barbara added, \u201cYes! Because that\u2019s where you become close to each other as a couple, grow in your faith, make dear friends, and, of course, draw nearer to God. Our lives have been richly blessed and centered around our church, where it has been our mission to love and serve others around us.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “You’ve got to get up here to the First Baptist Church. They\u2019ve got one of the best-looking groomsmen in this wedding\u2026\u201d After what she\u2019d heard her sister say, Barbara quickly set the rotary phone on the table and pleaded with their mother to drive her the short distance to the church. The August heat hung […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":23574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1-2-1024x683.png\")
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