The One and Only Bill Bowman, by Lynnette Bowman, daughter in-law

The One and Only Bill Bowman

When I first met Bill and Wilma Bowman, I was already engaged to the dashing Kevin Bowman. I was a super shy girl from the middle of the woods and they seemed like these very sophisticated people from the city in California. I kind of had it in my head that I didn't measure up, not from anything that they said or did, it was all in my head. Then there would be these comments from Bill, you know how he is, just little things that I thought meant he didn't like me. Over the years, I learned that he was a country bumpkin just as much as I was and I really grew to love both of them very, very much. I felt that Bill and I kind of had a connection in the country bumpkin world.

Whenever they would come to visit us, Bill would always ask for a few projects to do. He loved to keep busy and helped us fix things that needed to be mended and build things that needed to be built. He also took us all out to dinner, which was a fun treat for our family as we didn't eat out much. The kids favorite for a while was Chuck-O-Rama! I remember Josh's eyes lighting up when Bill would say we were going there. It was always nice to have them come.

Another thing that he always did, when Wilma and I were busy in the kitchen mostly, was take the kids to the park to play. What a blessing that was at a busy time of day and, of course, the kids loved it too.

I loved how he and Wilma would take all the kids to the canal or take us floating on the river or rent lodges in different places so that we could have an enjoyable time together as a family. Some of our favorite family memories come from those trips to Idaho.

Another fun memory was riding around to the different cemeteries to decorate the graves at memorial day. I liked hearing all the stories of their ancestors. I really enjoyed driving out to Ora and hearing all the stories of Bill's childhood and seeing all the places that go along with the stories. I really wish we knew more of those days and had heard more about his life.

Bill may not have always been the warm fuzzy type, but I always felt his love and appreciated all that he did for us over the years. He showed love the way that he knew how, by doing service and teasing. I loved playing games with him as much as anyone, except for Skipbo, ha ha. I didn't like his draw until you can play rule!

We like to chuckle as we remember his on time policies, his fire safety inspections and his day old doughnuts. We also thought it was fun wondering what their new car was going to be when we saw them next. Bill Bowman is very much missed in our family and it will be wonderful when we get to see him again.