Owen Robert Obey, 8, of De Pere passed away on December 27th, 2024. He was born on December 1, 2016 to Wyatt Obey and Chelsi Weber. Owen was a childhood cancer warrior and bravely fought Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, since July of 2023. Throughout his journey, Owen was an inspiration to many people across the world.

Owen lived a very full, happy 8 years of life. Before cancer, Owen loved to dress up in superhero costumes and show them off at stores or the park. He never met a stranger and would talk to anyone, young or old. He enjoyed jumping out of trees and swinging on his swing set, and would spend hours outside. Owen was an "only child" for 4 years and his parents cherish this time they had as a trio. He loved going on adventures- to the trampoline park, golfing with his dad or up to his great grandpa Gordy's land to shoot his BB gun, spending weekends with his cousins riding their dirt bikes and 4 wheelers. He was active in sports and played soccer, football and fell in love with wrestling just before he got diagnosed with cancer. The West De Pere wrestling team has continued to cheer Owen on throughout his cancer journey. He loved to ask questions and learn new things on Youtube.

After he was diagnosed with cancer his interests changed but he never focused on what he couldn't do (and still often did things he probably shouldn't do). He even had to replace the rod in his leg after only 2 months because he was not slowed down by the major amputation he had and the rod became displaced. He loved to stay up late playing video games and talking on the phone with his cousins. He loved to visit candy stores and go swimming. It was important to him to be a good brother and he loved to hold his new baby cousin Suttyn. He loved to play with his neighbors- Evelyn and Lincoln, Aria and Levi, Ethan, Martin, and Joel, and he loved to play with his friends from school- Riley, Beckett, Camden, Lincoln, Cooper, Greyson. He had a special place in his heart for all of the adults in his neighborhood, too.

One of Owen's favorite things was his family. He wanted nothing more than to spend time with his family and even wanted them to be along for his Make-A-Wish to the Bahamas, which he sadly did not get to go on. He loved to spend his weekends at his Auntie Ashli and Uncle Brandon's. He helped to mend his aunties broken heart when she lost her daughter a few years ago, and she often joked with him that he was her best friend. His cousins were his best friends and more like brothers to him. If you ever spoke with Owen, you knew how important his cousins were to him. His cousin Kyler was only 9 months older than him, so they were often more like twins. He loved to spend weekends at his Grandma Nikki and Grandpa Mike's and bake cookies and make smores. He loved to have sleepovers with his Grandma Melinda and share in their love of gems and crystals. He loved to swim at his Uncle Casey and Aunt Heather's and play with their dog Archie.

Owen is survived by his parents, Chelsi and Wyatt, and his little brothers Cooper and Decker, and his dogs Carl and Petey. He is also survived by his grandparents Nikki and Mike Blodgett, Melinda Obey (Karter Gallion), Aunties and Uncles Ashli and Brandon Dehn, Casey Weber and Heather Heyrman, Josh and Grace Blodgett, Monica (Joseph) Wanish, Cousins Ayden, Lyam, Kyler & Suttyn Dehn, Brody, Brooklyn & Easton Blodgett, Justin Jacquet, Nakyta, Makyle (Lindsi), and McKenna Chentis, Ashley (Steven) Bongle. He loved his great aunties Lynn, Robin, and Brenda, and many other extended family as well.

He was preceded in death by his cousins Cambryia Dehn, Dylan Jacquet, Sebastian Scherer, Aunt Rachel Scherer, Grandpa Robert "Bob" Obey, great aunt Janice, Great grandparents John and Norma Wood, Gordon "Gordy" Obey, Lola Obey, and Teddy Lindstrom (Ronald Fisher), and Russell Lindstrom.

Owen loved to talk about how he was rare. He would tell people how he could turn his head farther than other people because he didn't have any collarbones and tell strangers how many tumors he has had. He loved to show off his backwards foot and his prosthetic (robot) leg. One of the best nights of Owen's life was when he met Jake Paul and got many, many things autographed (for his family) just before he got ill. Thanks to "Tiktok Sam" Weidenhofer (Itssozer), Owen got to live out a dream of meeting his idol, and spreading his story to millions of people.

Owen was never upset that he had cancer. He continued to live and love his life no matter what obstacles he faced. He didn't mind spending time at the hospital because he didn't have to go to school and he could play video games as much as he wanted. Many special people showered our Owen in gifts. His nurses remember fondly that Owen would always have a blanket covering his whole body and would be watching his tablet, and his bed was covered in candy wrappers when they changed his sheets. He loved when his child life friend Ashley would surprise him with pokemon cards; Lauren would come and make slime for him; Shannon would watch him play video games; or Kailee would play uno.

Owen was so brave. He was 6 years old when he got cancer and would do MRIs and radiation without sedation. He would get wheeled back into surgery wide awake. He would bravely calm himself down before he had to get his port accessed, and count down for his nurses. When faced with having his leg amputated, he didn't care as long as he could still run and jump with his robot leg. Things that would make an adult shake in fear, didn't bother Owen.

Owen was always an "old soul" and often talked about God and Heaven, even when his parents didn't bring it up. He never met his Grandpa Bob, but Grandpa Bob was very much a part of his life. He loved to remember his family members in Heaven. It was a result of his faith in God, that his parents had decided to have him baptized during his recent hospitalization. Owen loved Jesus and we know that he is celebrating in Heaven.

Owen may have persevered through cancer, but our healthcare system failed him and so many other children with cancer. When Owen's cancer came back in March, his doctors already knew he would not survive his osteosarcoma. We could continue to take out the cancer, but they knew it would continue to come back. Doctors have no idea how to stop metastatic osteosarcoma and very little has changed in the last 40 years due to a lack of money spent on childhood cancer research.

Owen would not have wanted people to feel that he is better off, now that he is in Heaven. He would have chosen to stay with his family, even if he had to live the rest of his life with cancer. Childhood cancer and the lack of funding and research for cures took that from him and us. Owen's family urges all of the people who love him to take an active stand in fighting for children with cancer- whether that be volunteering your time to organizations, emailing legislators, donating money to organizations that focus on research, or just spreading Owen's story.

There were many special people we met along Owen's cancer journey. Dr Long and Dr Hill were willing to entertain any ideas in trying to heal Owen, despite the fact that many doctors give up on kids with metastatic osteosarcoma. They allowed Owen's family to have hope, when many other doctors wouldn't. His social workers Emma and Liz spent hours listening to Owen's parents, and were always trying to secure funds for bills, and went above and beyond what social workers are expected to do. His nurses at St. Vincent Hospital were a part of our family and we will miss them. They took the best care of Owen- allowing him to be a child and joke around and he truly loved them- Inpatient (Emily, Kayla, Lisa, Katie, Haley, Marissa, Terri, Liz, Abby, Ella), ICU (Kelly, Holly, Nicole, Brook, Heather), Outpatient (Whitney, Trisha, Alyssa, Jodi, Amber). He also had special teachers who were more than just teachers to him- Mrs. LaPierre, Mrs. Sands, and Denise McFarland. We met many special childhood cancer friends and their families- Jessica, David and Lyle LaFleur loved Owen like their own and sent him so many letters and words of support. Also Jaxen Licea, Brody Bealmear, Noelle Franklin, Jaden Wang, Elias Garcia, Gavin Stockwell, Carrigan Nelson, Jill MacDonald, Acacia Fellner, Katie Histing, Emily Carpenter, Sasha Friedman, Drew Templeton, Teegan, Brielle, Drew. Owen's mom would also like to thank her coworkers and Forsite family for supporting her, donating PTO, and allowing her flexibility during this challenging time.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating in Owen's honor to one of the local organizations that helped support their family financially- St. Vincent's child life department, Families of Children with Cancer, The Angel Fund for Children with Cancer, Inc., Children's Cancer Family Foundation of Northeast Wisconsin. Just before Owen's final hospitalization, we did find a drug combination that was helping him. If you would like to support an organization focused on curing children through precision oncology, please consider donating to Beat Childhood Cancer.

Family and friends may visit at the Olde 41 Premier Banquet Hall, 1966 Velp Avenue Green Bay, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 18, 2025. A Celebration of Owen's Life will take place at 1:30 p.m.

The family asks that if you have any pictures with Owen, or memories, if you could bring them along to the Celebration of Life. Feel free to wear your Team Owen apparel, or whatever you feel most comfortable in!