Sunday evening update: The funeral for Will Owsley will be in Anniston Tuesday at 3 p.m., Parker Memorial Baptist Church. See the breaking news entry filed later on this site for details, or check Monday's Anniston Star.

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A funeral service will be held this week at Parker Memorial Baptist Church in Anniston for one of the most talented musicians to ever come out of the Model City.

Will Owsley died at Williamson County Hospital in Franklin, Tenn., around midday Friday, said his mother, Alys. He was 44. The exact date of the funeral had not been determined Saturday evening, she said.

Owsley leaves two sons, Walker Jackson Owsley, 12, and William Reese (Liam) Owsley IV, age 8. Their mother is Owsley’s former wife, Rebecca Walker, formerly of Anniston.

Survivors in Anniston include his parents, Bill and Alys Owsley, brother Bud Owsley and his wife, Wendy, and sister Lucie Owsley.

A musician since he was a teenager, Owsley had 10 gold records and had toured the world three times with various top-name bands.

According to a short article by music writer Peter Cooper announcing Owsley’s death in The Tennessean, Owsley was Amy Grant’s touring guitarist for 16 years, and his own music veered into edgier, power-pop terrains. He was nominated for a Grammy award for his engineering work on 1999 solo debut album Owsley, released through Giant Records. Owsley performed with Shania Twain on numerous national television shows and awards programs. A second album, called The Hard Way, was Owsley’s own creation in a studio he built in his home in Franklin, Tenn.

A statement from Grant on her website reads, “We are all reeling today from the news of Will Owsley’s death yesterday. So many of us in Nashville worked with Will, lived with him on the road, celebrated his talents and knew his anguish. Please join us in praying for his family and children.”

Owsley paid a professional visit to his home state in November last year when he performed with Grant and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in Birmingham.