Wallkill Surprises Former Supreme Court Justice Owen by Naming Road After Him

ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.–Wallkill Supervisor George Serrano has honored former state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Owen by co-naming the road where he resides after him.

On May 1, Serrano, along with friends and family, surprised Owen while he was driving from his home on Martin Lane. They gathered to express their appreciation for Owen and his contributions to the town of Wallkill and Orange County.

Martin Lane has been officially co-named Judge Joseph G. Owen Way.

Owen, 91, has been a lifelong resident of Orange County and an influential figure in the local legal community. He was admitted to the bar in 1959 and served as the Wallkill town justice from 1974 to 1984. From 1985 to 1993, he served as the county’s Surrogate Court judge. In 1994, he was appointed as a justice on the state Supreme Court, where he served until retiring in 2009 at the mandatory retirement age of 76.

Owen still does legal work in Wallkill.

“I’m not finished yet. I’m not 92 yet. I will be before the end of this year. I’m still doing a little work for the court system, and I tell them not to call me, but they still do,” he told the crowd at the sign unveiling.

Serrano said, “[Owen has been a] pillar in our community, back from probably before I was born, and the things he’s done for this community, that’s why we are here.”

“We are here to celebrate his life, because to this day, he still works. And you know, for me, from day one, he’s been a friend, someone I can look up to, who has given so much to this community,” he said.

Owens said to his audience: “​​Well, this is really a surprise. I never expected it, and I never would expect it.

“I always tried to do the best I could, you know, for the town and for the people of the town, and then also for the county, and then eventually, for the judicial district that I was in.

“And I really owe everything that I’ve done to my wife, who’s probably looking down now. She was the greatest thing there was, and she was the one who brought me to Wallkill, because I really grew up in Middletown.”

The event concluded with Owen posing for photos with attendees and holding a replica of the new street sign that Serrano had given him. “For you to hang in your man cave,” Serrano told Owen.

Some notable appearances at the gathering included County Legislator Robert Sassi, County Executive Steve Neuhaus, County Sheriff Paul Arteta, County Clerk Kelly Eskew, Wallkill Councilman Eric Valentin and his wife, Wallkill Deputy Supervisor Linda Harahan, Wallkill Councilman Ralph Carr, Wallkill Court Judge Pat Owen, Orange County Family Court Judge Victoria Campbell, and Judge Amanda Brady from the town of Goshen.

State Assembly Member Paula Kay and state Sen. James Skoufis both sent representatives to congratulate Owen.