Kenneth Odom Owens Jr., an architect, businessman and entrepreneur who launched the first African American architectural firm in Birmingham, Ala., with his partner Franklin Woods in 1974 at a time when black-owned professional firms were in short supply, died in his sleep on Saturday, March 7, at his home in Birmingham.

His leadership and work with his firm, The Owens and Woods Partnership, led to its present location in downtown Birmingham at the historical Fire Station #4. It was considered a benchmark in the development of black-owned businesses in Birmingham. Some of his most notable projects at the local and state levels include the expansion of Birmingham city hall, the Metropolitan Garden Public Housing (Central City), Citizens Federal Bank, Protective Insurance Buildings, First Baptist Fairfield, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church Family Life Center, Freedom Manor, Birmingham Parking Deck #9 and other projects throughout the Southeast.

The cause of death was complications from cancer, his wife Dr. Dannetta Thornton Owens said.

The driving force behind Mr. Owens’s life work was his intense desire to maintain honesty and integrity in all of his business endeavors and in his relationship with others. By his energy, determination and compassion his work within the community, specifically the homeless at Jimmie Hale Mission, Jesse’s Place, was legendary where he served as past president of the board and treasurer. In 1998, he was honored by the mission when the building was renamed the Kenneth O. Owens Jr. Building. His devotion to the mission extended to the end of his life.

A man who loved his community, Mr. Owens was selected to be a member of the 1985 Class of Leadership Birmingham. He was an active member of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church where he served as chairman of the deacon board. He was past vice president of Boy Scouts of America and chairman of the board of Birmingham-Jefferson Metro Chamber of Commerce. He served on boards of the A.G. Gaston Boys Club and was a longtime member of the Vulcan Kiwanis Club. He was membership chairman of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Boulé) and was initiated into the undergraduate chapter of Rho Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Tennessee State University.

Born May 23, 1939, in Hamilton County, Chattanooga, Tenn., to Kenneth O. Owens Sr. and Lydia May Alexander Owens, Mr. Owens was the eldest of three siblings. He was proud of his upbringing in “Bushtown,” a neighborhood in Chattanooga. As a boy, he attended the Orchard Knob Elementary School and later Howard High School where he demonstrated a prodigious talent for mathematics and art which led him to the field of architecture. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a degree in architectural engineering. Upon graduation, he was the first African American in the Southeast employed by the United States Corps of Engineers in 1963. Recognition of his unique talents and architectural skills overtime accorded him induction as a fellow into the American Institute of Architects in 2000. This distinction placed him among only five such honored architects in Birmingham and less than two per cent in the nation. He championed historic preservation and the development of black businesses in Birmingham.

Those who knew Mr. Owens on Martha’s Vineyard counted him among the most extraordinary, warm and outgoing summer residents on the Island. It was only last year (2008) that he completed his goal of adding two major additions to his dream cottage there which he affectionately called his “Shangri-La.”

In his final months, Mr. Owens continued to support his vision for the Jimmy Hale mission while fighting to beat his illness. He never gave up hope that he would make it.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Kevin Owens, Keith Owens and wife Vicki Owens of Birmingham, Ala.; Dr. Verna A. Thornton, William Kennon Thornton and his wife, Maria Thornton of Atlanta, Ga.; grandchildren Christian, Kendall and Keith C. Owens of Birmingham, Ala.; Denise and Danette, Hinton; Lauren and Brooke Thornton of Atlanta, Ga.; sister Geneva Hall of Copperas Cove, Tex.; brother Edward Owens of Portsmouth, Va.; brother in law Rosmond H. Kennon of Hoover, Ala.; three aunts: Ruby Knight of Chicago, Ill., Thelma Fuqua of Huntsville, Ala., and Ora Heathington of Brooklyn, N.Y.; one uncle, Jeff Alexander of Gary, Ind., and a host of friends on Martha’s Vineyard.

The communities of Birmingham and Oak Bluffs are better places because of Mr. Owens. He will be missed.