Known for her quiet strength and gentle manner, Florence Bowman kept service to others in the forefront of her life. She had a deep sense of compassion, developed through a lifetime of sorrows and joys, rooted in her faith and her belief in social justice, and delivered with kindness and grace.

Born Florence Virginia Chisholm in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1926, she was the youngest of four children, her father a dentist and her mother a homemaker. Her parents and grandmother died when she was sixteen, world-altering for a teenager, and she went to live with a beloved aunt, one street over from her future husband Bruce (yes, there was a well-worn path between their houses).

Florence and Bruce were sweethearts through high school and college, where Florence earned a BA degree with a major in sociology and music, and a minor in religion and psychology. They married two days after they graduated from Kalamazoo College, and began their adventure with Bruce’s entry into Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, where their first child Scott was born. Next move was to Rochester, New York for Bruce’s job with the YMCA where their second child Julie was born. An opportunity to escape the snow came with a job at the YMCA in Houston, Texas, where third child Michael was born. Florence noted that being pregnant was great way to quickly make new friends.

The young family visited St Stephen’s Methodist Church their first Sunday in their new city, joined the second Sunday, and Florence joined the choir the third Sunday—and kept singing for the next sixty years. Florence relished her work in the young, active church, eagerly serving on every committee she could, volunteering to help any member in need, and planning outreach into the community.

In 1960, Bruce was diagnosed with manic depression (now called bipolar disorder), and life altered again for Florence.

She became the bread-winner of the family, working her way up through the US Census Bureau as a senior interviewer and supervisor, respected by her colleagues and awarded at the national level. She managed a household with three children and a spouse who was unable to work. This was surely not the life she envisioned, but she worked tirelessly and stayed focused on providing a nurturing environment for her family. Weekends were for prepping meals and for baking, the smell of warm bread and chocolate chip cookies filling the kitchen. She cheerfully supported the backyard “Bowman Zoo,” a collection of mostly rescued wild animals including raccoons, rabbits, possums, turtles, skunks, and even a safely penned alligator. Summers meant camping trips meeting Michigan family or more frequent mini-trips to see her sister in Port Arthur, swapping kids for a week at a time to let the cousins mingle. She quietly and steadily took care of all her commitments with a grace that never hinted at the personal challenges she faced.

After she retired, Florence enjoyed traveling around the world with various groups. Her first trip to the Holy Land was deeply meaningful for her. A trip to Scotland with her sisters--all three Chisholm girls together on ancestral land--was a special treat. She loved the many European countries she visited, but she declared that New Zealand was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.

The church continued to be an anchor for her throughout her life, not merely for the support she received, but for the opportunities to serve others. In the early years, she was inspired by Reverend Bill Bull and church leader Judge Woodrow Seals to take action, to serve others as Christ did. She never touted her own service, but it was probably the most important aspect of her life. She modeled the teachings of Christ; she didn’t talk about them. Her favorite Bible verse from James, “Be doers of the Word, not hearers only” was a guiding principle for her.

Her faith had feet, and busy hands. She chaired or presided over a vast number of Methodist councils and committees in her 64 years with St Stephens. She joined circles, taught Sunday School, and bravely offered a sermon when she was a lay leader. She put together programs for seniors, prayer breakfasts and participated in those famous Methodist covered dish suppers. She helped develop Operation Understanding in the 1960’s, whereby the predominantly white St Stephens congregation would regularly share worship services and meals with St Andrews, a predominantly black church. She was the lone woman on the building committee when it was time for a new sanctuary. She took her children to visit the elderly and to see poverty up close. She baked raisin bread and chocolate chip cookies and dispersed them widely, to the delight of many. She coordinated the home-bound visitation team for nearly 30 years, volunteered at the community thrift store for over 20 years, and sang in the choir for 60 years until her beautiful alto voice was no longer reliable. When her church sponsored a Vietnamese family in the 1970s, she was personally invested in their well-being, and formed a close life-long bond.

Her commitments were measured in decades, not just years, and were energized by Love, not just a sense of responsibility. For it was Love that guided her entire life, and it was Love that was felt by all whose lives she touched.

Florence is survived by son Scott Bowman and wife Helen Dorrance, their son Dustin Bowman and daughter Lotus Kiffe and her husband Chad, and their children Blake and Megan; daughter Julie Bowman and husband Monty Northrup; son Michael Bowman and wife Jodi Bobrovsky; brother-in-law Dave Bowman and family; many well-loved nieces and nephews scattered around the country (Chisholms, Smiths, Wallaces and Johnsons); the Mai Nguyen family; the Mason grandkids; and of course her beloved St Stephen’s family. She is predeceased by her husband Bruce Merritt Bowman; her parents Allison and Helen Mae Fletcher Chisholm; her aunt Vera Fletcher Miller; her siblings Gordon Chisholm, Helen Chisholm Smith, and Dorothy Chisholm Wallace and their spouses, her son-in-law Jonathan Mason, and too many beloved cousins, nephews, extended family and long-time friends.

The family thanks the loving staff at the Westminster Health Center and Hospice Austin for such compassionate care in her final weeks. Our appreciation to St John's UMC for honoring her with a service in Austin, and to her beloved minister Cramer Johnson for coming out of retirement to officiate.

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