For Britton and Bryan Owen, the story began with a blind date at Ole Miss.

Originally from Madison, Britton met Bryan, from Atlanta, on a blind date at Ole Miss in 1987. Britton was a freshman, Bryan was a junior, and he picked her up at the KD house for their first date. He asked her out two more times before Christmas break. Then, while they were home for the holidays, the two discovered Britton’s parents had been good college friends with Bryan’s aunt and uncle, and both families had connections to Ole Miss.

While at Ole Miss, Bryan was the kicker for the football team. Recently, his picture was hung in the renovated Phi Delta Theta house, and the Owens are avid Ole Miss fans. They return to Oxford whenever they can, enjoying tailgating with old friends and attending home football games.

Britton and Bryan were married July 20, 1991, in Madison and recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. They lived in Savannah, Georgia, for the first year and a half, then moved to Atlanta before returning to Madison in 1994. Britton was six months pregnant when they moved, and their daughter Anniston Ingrid Owen, known as Annie, was born later that year.

Mary Ousley Owen was born in 1998 while the family was still in Madison. Shortly afterward, the Owens moved into their Eastover home, where they have now lived for 27 years. They remodeled the house 17 years ago, and Britton said, “Wow how time flies.”

Both daughters attended Jackson Academy from start to finish and went on to graduate from Ole Miss. Annie earned a master’s degree in speech pathology from Jackson State and has worked with Betsy Mosby Interiors since summer 2020. Mary Ousley earned a master’s degree in clinical Mental Health Counseling from Belmont in Nashville and is now a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She is also a talented artist.

Annie married Cooper Reid in 2023 at Gulf State Lodge in Alabama, with the reception at Flora Bama. The location made sense for the family, which spends quite a bit of time in Perdido Key. Cooper also attended Jackson Academy before graduating from Mississippi State. He received his master’s in plumbing and owns Mississippi Plumbing Solutions. Annie and Cooper live in Madison with three dogs and a cat.

Mary Ousley recently moved from Nashville to Houston to be near her fiancé, Blake Morton, who is from Madison. They will be married in town on February 20, 2027. Blake attended Madison Central High School and Mississippi State before graduating from medical school. He is now in his third year of anesthesia residency at MD Anderson. Mary Ousley and Blake did not know each other in high school and were set up a few years ago. He has fit into the family, and Cooper now has a Mississippi State buddy.

Bryan has joked about the situation: “What did I do to deserve to get TWO sons in law as MS State fans?! Haha.” The house is divided when it comes to the girls. And then there is Ginny, the family’s four-and-a-half-year-old English cream retriever. She is very friendly and loves walking through the neighborhood, something the Owens enjoy too.

 

Family has always been important, even though the Owens have never lived in the same town as their parents. Britton’s parents moved to the beach when the couple moved to Mississippi, so the family relied on babysitters in Madison and Jackson. Many of those babysitters lived in the neighborhood and are now married with children of their own. Some even live in Eastover today. Mary Ousley was actually the babysitter for the children of one of her former babysitters.

The Owens enjoy traveling together and separately, and snow skiing is their favorite family sport. Britton grew up skiing and wanted to introduce the girls to it early. The family tries to ski every year, sometimes with friends and sometimes with the kids. They have skied in different places, including Cortina, Italy, where they skied with friends the year before the Olympics.

They also enjoy going out West during the summer. Britton likes to hike, while Bryan enjoys fly fishing. They spend plenty of time in Perdido Key, where they enjoy the beach and Bryan’s boat.

Bryan really likes to cook and is an avid golfer, while Britton has played tennis at CCJ with many of the same ladies since moving to Mississippi. They both enjoy the fitness center at CCJ, and Britton likes the spin classes. Bryan used to hunt often but does not go as much now. The family also attends Christ United Church.

After more than two decades in Eastover, the neighborhood holds years of family memories. Britton and Bryan have watched their girls grow up alongside neighborhood friends, with cookouts, kids running throughout the neighborhood and slumber parties after dances. “We were the youngest with the youngest kids when we moved in years ago,” Britton said. “Now we are feeling like we are the older generation with all the new cute young families moving in.”

For the Owens, that is part of what makes Eastover special.  “Eastover is wonderful, family-oriented neighborhood.”