UPDATE: Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2015, at St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland with burial to follow. A visitation will be held at the Francis J. Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring on Thursday, July 9 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Gaylord College will hold a memorial service on the OU campus early in the fall semester.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Owen Kulemeka Memorial Scholarship fund in Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma. Checks should be made payable to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, P.O. Box 258856, Oklahoma City, OK 73125-8856.

A special Facebook page, Remembering Owen, has been created to collect memories and photos of Owen. Please post your thoughts here: https://www.facebook.com/rememberingowen

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It is with deep sadness that we must share with you the news that we have lost one of our Gaylord family. Dr. Owen Kulemeka, public relations assistant professor, passed away unexpectedly over the weekend, believed to have been from complications from heat stroke.

Friends and colleagues began to worry about him when he had not been seen for several days and had not posted or commented on Facebook as was his custom. When multiple calls went unanswered, Professor Jaime Loke and Gaylord Director of Finance Heather Todd went to check on him at his apartment where he was found the morning of June 30.

Owen was originally from Malawi, Africa, but received his bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Maryland at College Park and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. His father, mother and two sisters live in the Washington, D.C. area.

Owen was such a wonderful friend, colleague and mentor. His infectious smile and wonderful heart will be sorely missed in Gaylord. We know this news is difficult for everyone but want you to know that there are counselors available through Goddard Health Services at 405-325-2911. We will update here and on social media when plans are in place for services.

A special Facebook page, Remembering Owen, has been created to collect memories and photos of Owen. Please post your thoughts here: https://www.facebook.com/rememberingowen