Died 3 January 2003

Buried in Grange Hall Cemetery, Rock Port

Published in Pilot Tribune on 7 January 2003

Former Blair resident William Richard "Dick" Bowen, 82, of Lincoln, died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, at a Lincoln hospital.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at Minter funeral Home in Rock Port, Mo. Interment will be at the Grange Hall Cemetery, north of Rock Port.

William Richard "Dick" Bowen was born Jan. 13, 1920, in Rock Port to William Rose and Zuba Catherine (Hopping) Bowen. He attended school in Corning, Mo., and at Banner Country School, north of Rock Port. He served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he helped build roads in Idaho.

In 1939, he began working in river construction on the Missouri River. He worked in many different capacities, including driving pilings, as a deck hand, as dredge operator and a towboat operator.

On May 20, 1942, he married Helen Ruth Kuhns in Maryville, Mo. In 1962, the couple moved to Blair, where Mr. Bowen was employed by Fort Calhoun Stone as a heavy equipment operator. He retired in 1978, and moved back to Rock Port in 1982.

He enjoyed horses, gardening, and caring for his lawn but, most importantly, his grandchildren. He belonged to the River Rat Association.

He is survived by his wife, Helen, of Rock Port; three sons and daughters-in-law, Gary and Donna Bowen of Carson, Iowa, Mike and Linda Bowen of Blair, and Rick Bowen of Omaha; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a sister, Mildred McCoy of Council Bluffs, Iowa; three sisters-in-law, Cathy Walker of Jefferson City, Mo., Dorothy Roll of Liberal, Kan., and Wilma Bowen of Springfield, Mo.; four brothers-in-law, David Kuhns and Lonnie Kuhns, both of Rock Port, Marvin Walker of Jefferson City, Mo., and Reinhold Heine of Mound City, Mo., and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by three brothers, Harrison, Ted and Jack Bowen, and four sisters, Loah Fisk, Lula Bowen, Abbie Heine and Louise Bowen.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~