Preston Gregory Owens' green eyes always sparkled with warmth and a big smile lit up his face. Inquisitive and mischievious, Greg loved people from all walks of life. In fact, with Greg the cliche was true -- he never met a stranger. Whether you remember him by his first name, Preston, or his middle name, Greg, when you met him you instantly wanted to know him. And he wanted to know you. He was always willing to help anyone whether he knew them or not.
Greg was born on February 26, 2002, the son of Richard Preston Owens.
As a little boy, Greg loved watching "Blues Clues" and "Bob the Builder." In those TV moments, he discovered his love of problem solving while snacking on Cheetos and sipping sweet tea.
Throughout his life, Greg took things apart to see what made them work but he didn't always like to put them back together. Forever resourceful, Greg researched until he figured out how something worked.
When Greg was a toddler he was blessed to become a big brother. In 2005, Greg’s two younger sisters -- Graycee Owens and Colleen Squires -- came into his life. A year later, his sister, Alexis Squires, was born. Greg loved being a big brother, and he loved his sisters deeply.
Greg was known as a prankster on occasion, including one time when he put hot sauce in his sister's sweet tea. Another time he wore a fake earring to freak out his dad.
A Southern boy to his core, Greg loved the outdoors and deer hunting. He was an expert archer from a young age and an excellent marksman from the time he was six years old.
One of his biggest joys came from helping his PawPaw grow watermelons and purple hull peas, he enjoyed raising chickens and having a good Redbone coonhound to follow. Coming from a long lineage of loggers, Greg loved driving skidders and operating log loaders.
But just as much as Greg loved sitting in a deer stand, he also loved sitting in front of a computer screen developing his passion for technology. Video games sparked his interest in computer programming and website building.
Learning and researching came easy to Greg in the Sheridan School District where he attended from kindergarten until he graduated in 2020.
Greg played trombone in the school band, and he thrived on having a blast with his friends, whatever the situation. Greg and his best friend Alex Bauer were honored to be the programmers for “The Iron Giant" robot for the Sheridan School District's robotics team when they competed in various competitions during high school. Greg was proud that he and Alex were featured in the 2019 Yellowjacket yearbook on page 57.
Many people came to know Greg through his employment at Sonic and Walmart where he worked while still in high school. After Greg graduated high school in the spring of 2020, he worked briefly for Amazon during the pandemic.
Greg's goal was to earn a degree in computer science and programming.
Multifaceted, Greg loved Dragon Ball Z, museums, history, Japanese pop culture, traveling, game nights, trying various hot sauces, his samurai swords, various genres of music (which ensured very loud music in the car), sushi, trying new restaurants, cream sodas, playing video games, painting landscapes, going to festivals, Harry Potter, candies from Universal Yum boxes, retro TV shows like "Gunsmoke" and "The Rockford Files", cooking shows and his cats -- Saturn, Venus, Moon, Comet, Star, and Scraggles.
In late summer of 2022, Greg was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The diagnosis transformed him into the ultimate cancer warrior. He never wavered in his faith during his health journey and the war he waged on cancer. Greg always relied on his faith, leaning on his father when times got hard.
Fearlessly, Greg lived his life surpassing the statistical data related to his initial six-month diagnosis by three years. As many nurses said repeatedly: Greg was the bravest and toughest guy they had ever seen.
He loved his team at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University in North Carolina because they took the time to listen to him. And they cared.
Greg, 23, of Grapevine, Arkansas, completed his earthly journey on February 16, 2026.
Greg is survived by his three sisters, his dad, stepmother, and mother as well as aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins from Sheridan to Minnesota.
In leiu of flowers please donate to https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dukehealth/?designation=3912597
