Lela Owen Pratt

November 15, 1949 – August 1, 2025

Graveside Service to be held October 11, 2025 10:00 A.M. at Greenlawn Cemetery 3700 River Blvd., Bakersfield, CA.

Lela Kathleen Owen Pratt was born on November 15, 1949, in Bakersfield, California, the eldest of Thurman and Mildred (Stewart) Owen’s three children. The namesake of her grandmother Lela Justice Stewart, she enjoyed growing up with her brother and sister and her many cousins and extended family in Bakersfield. A brilliant and curious student, she attended Mount Vernon, Horace Mann, Sierra Junior High, and East Bakersfield High. After the family moved southwest of town, she graduated from West High School in 1967 and then attended Bakersfield College. As a teenager, she was a lifeguard at Lakeside School.

The family was active at Trinity Methodist Church where Lela met many life-long friends, including the love of her life, Larry Layton Pratt. She spent many happy years taking part in the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). Her mom and dad often took the youth group on campouts and outings to the beach and to the mountains. She was very devoted to the youth group of the Redwood Christian Ashram. This group continued to gather even into their twenties and thirties, building deep and lasting connections.

Lela and Larry happily married on June 12, 1976, and together created a wonderful marriage and a loving partnership. Many joyous gatherings were held in their beautiful home in Springville, California. Tragically, Larry died in her arms of a massive heart attack only 3 years later. She never remarried.

Lela’s first “real job” was working as an actual Switchboard Operator at Pacific Bell. At one time, Lela lived in San Francisco, where she worked at the iconic landmark, “City Lights Booksellers.” For a book lover, this was heaven. She also ventured to Fresno and the coastal town of Los Osos. In the early 1980s, she returned to the family homestead, known as the “Funny Farm,” just south of Bakersfield. She devoted two decades to the printing trade, working at Bakersfield Envelope Company and Minuteman Press. Later on, Lela chose to stay home to help care for her parents as they aged.

A hard-working and intelligent person, Lela was always kind and willing to help. If you were going through a hard time, she was there for you. If you needed someone to play with the kids, she was there for you. She was so proud of her family’s heritage of hard work and practical know-how and grateful for their unconditional love. Like her mother, she loved to read and talk about the deep things of life. Like her father, she could analyze a problem, fix it, and see it through. Lela was a loving daughter, a supportive sister, a remarkable wife, a faithful friend, and a model aunt.

Lela approached her life with a keen appreciation for the simple joys—an afternoon spent in thoughtful conversation, a well-worn novel, or a quiet walk outside to check on the critters. Even as her path led her through profound loss, she nurtured the bonds that gave her life meaning with steadfast loyalty and gentle humor.

Lela died peacefully on August 1, 2025, of complications of Alzheimer's Disease.

Lela was preceded in death by her beloved husband Larry and always dearly remembered parents, Thurman and Mildred. She is survived by her loving sister, Carla Owen Jeffers and her devoted brother, Robert Thurman Owen, Jr. and his wife Miller Owen; her sister in law Paula Pellman and her husband David Pellman; her well-loved nieces and nephews, Robert and Elizabeth Owen, Rebecca and Joe Morrisey, Georgia and Ricky Medina, and April Myers; and her precious grand nieces and nephews, Emily Morrisey; Andy-Kathleen and Griffin Morrisey; Alana and Jeremiah Manuel; Isaac and Jonathan Medina. Her memory will also be treasured by dear family members and cherished friends.