33 Facts About Laurence Owen

Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen was an American figure skater.

Laurence Owen was the 1961 US National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed sixth.

Laurence Owen was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Maribel Owen.

Laurence Owen was born in Oakland, California, and for the first eight years grew up in Berkeley.

Laurence Owen was the second child of Guy Owen and Maribel Vinson, both talented figure skaters, and the younger sister of pairs skater Maribel Owen.

Laurence Owen was named in honor of her Canadian paternal grandmother.

Laurence Owen's parents taught skating and toured as professional figure skaters.

When Laurence Owen was a baby, she and her sister stayed with their maternal grandparents in Winchester, Massachusetts while their parents were on tour.

Laurence Owen wrote for a school assignment that she was first introduced to ice skating while she stayed in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Laurence Owen's parents had a troubled marriage and finally divorced in 1949, when Laurence was five, and her father moved to Washington.

Laurence Owen then returned to Ottawa, where he died of a perforated ulcer in April 1952.

At age five or six, Laurence Owen resisted her mother's discipline.

Laurence Owen hated eggs, which she thought were "slimy", and refused to eat them.

Laurence Owen's mother made her sit at the breakfast table for up to two hours until she ate the cold egg.

Maribel Vinson then made Laurence Owen eat two eggs instead of one egg every day for the following week.

Laurence Owen was resistant to practicing her school figures ahead of a competition.

Laurence Owen, who at school was known by her full name, attended Winchester Junior High School and then Winchester High School where in addition to maintaining her grueling training schedule she was an honor student, wrote poetry, and participated in several sports.

Laurence Owen was friendly, intelligent, and known for her beaming smile.

Laurence Owen was a talented pianist who composed her own songs.

Laurence Owen arranged the score of "La Damnation de Faust" by Hector Berlioz for her skating routine at the 1961 US National Competition.

Laurence Owen recalled attending a school dance with a boy who was shorter than she was and danced too close.

Laurence Owen went on one double date to the Totem Pole ballroom at Norumbega Park in Auburndale, Massachusetts in 1959 with a high school classmate who belonged to the school bridge club.

Laurence Owen's date recalled that she appeared to be trying to leave the house before her mother and grandmother could meet him, and that she kissed him goodnight.

Laurence Owen enjoyed interactions with boys she met at international skating competitions.

Laurence Owen held her own in a household of outspoken women.

Laurence Owen was close to her mother and sister, though she sometimes fought with her mother.

Maribel Vinson Laurence Owen was a demanding coach who was sometimes criticized for the pressure she placed on her daughters.

In 1956, Laurence Owen won the Eastern Junior Ladies title but was unable to participate in the United States Championships that year because of a broken wrist.

In January 1960, Laurence Owen placed third in the 1960 United States Figure Skating Championships and qualified for the 1960 Winter Olympics where she placed sixth.

On January 29,1961, Laurence Owen won the 1961 United States Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs and on February 12 that same year, won the 1961 North American Figure Skating Championships in Philadelphia.

On January 28,2011, Laurence Owen was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame along with the entire 1961 World Team.

Laurence Owen was interred beside her daughter and granddaughters following her own death in 1969.

Laurence Owen had planned to attend her mother's alma mater, Radcliffe College, with a view to eventually becoming a writer.