Dan & Shelly Owens have been married for 23 years and have five children, ages 20-14. Dan was the Chief Technology Officer for Prolucent, a healthcare company based in Dallas — he spent most of his 35 year career in healthcare technology. The family attends church at both Christ the Redeemer in Marietta and Northstar Church in Kennesaw.

Dan was healthy and a very active tennis player until November 6, 2023, when he suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke on the tennis court. He spent four weeks in ICU and rehab before returning home in December. However, on December 28, Dan had an ischemic stroke that was misdiagnosed for several days, during which he also developed pneumonia. He spent five weeks at the Shepherd Center, returning home in February. Over the last three months, Dan has been hospitalized two more times, but he is now at home.

Dan and Shelly have been together for almost 25 years, during which time they have done some awesome things… they adopted two children who were among the very first Ugandans to be adopted to America; they founded an East African juvenile justice ministry that continues to thrive as a leader in child resettlement; Dan quit his well-paying corporate job to temporarily run this ministry and the Owens’ moved their whole family to Africa for 18 months. Dan always has been a doer, a fixer, and a servant.

Two massive strokes have left Dan with permanent disabilities and deficits including left-side paralysis, speech & swallow difficulties, and more. Full-time professional caregivers, and other medical necessities, are very costly and many of their expenses are out-of-pocket.