She was my mom, and a giving, wonderful, awesome woman. I miss her terribly.
Joan Daleth Spurgeon Bowman was born in Perry, Iowa, on December 20, 1936, to Harry and Marjorie Welker Spurgeon. She was raised by her maternal grandparents, Ray and Josephine Belle Welker for most of her youth, on a small farm in Bouton, Iowa. She graduated from a Des Moines, Iowa, High School, then went on to attain her associates degree in elementary education from Grandview College. Back then all a teacher needed was a 2 year degree, so Joan began to teach 4th grade in Pleasantville, Iowa. After meeting and marrying her husband, Richard M. Bowman, on June 14, 1959, Joan quit teaching professionally and began raising their children.
Joan and Richard first moved to Edingburg, IL, where Richard took a church. Their first child, Cindy, was born in Taylorville, IL at that time. They moved to Decatur, Il, and he began preaching at First Christian Church there. They lived in Decatur for many years, and four more children, Michelle, Gary, Daniel, and Jean, were born and raised there.
She was an amazing woman. She cared for others and supported missions to Haiti and other countries. She was a praying woman, and a strong Christian. When she was diagnosed with a rare, deadly cancer, she faced it with courage and strength. She never feared death. Mom was curious, and she could beat just about anyone when playing Jeopardy on the computer. She'd answer a question, and my dad would cry out, "How in the world do you know that??" I miss her daily emails, and her, "Hi, honey!" she'd give when I would call her. She didn't like drive-through windows or pumping her own gas, and she never quite figured out all the ins and outs of her cell phone, but she was so smart. She absolutely loved fabric, and collected it, with plans to sew up all sorts of dresses. She loved going to thrift stores and garage sales, too, and taught my son, Jack, about getting good bargains at the grocery store. To this day, he thinks of Grandma when he buys something at a great price.
I like to think of her, in heaven, checking out all the flowers and trees that we don't have here, and of her telling Jesus about us (even though He knows), and I see her climbing on the Tree of Life and walking those golden streets. I wonder if heaven has garage sales. :-)
Joan Daleth Spurgeon Bowman was born in Perry, Iowa, on December 20, 1936, to Harry and Marjorie Welker Spurgeon. She was raised by her maternal grandparents, Ray and Josephine Belle Welker for most of her youth, on a small farm in Bouton, Iowa. She graduated from a Des Moines, Iowa, High School, then went on to attain her associates degree in elementary education from Grandview College. Back then all a teacher needed was a 2 year degree, so Joan began to teach 4th grade in Pleasantville, Iowa. After meeting and marrying her husband, Richard M. Bowman, on June 14, 1959, Joan quit teaching professionally and began raising their children.
Joan and Richard first moved to Edingburg, IL, where Richard took a church. Their first child, Cindy, was born in Taylorville, IL at that time. They moved to Decatur, Il, and he began preaching at First Christian Church there. They lived in Decatur for many years, and four more children, Michelle, Gary, Daniel, and Jean, were born and raised there.
She was an amazing woman. She cared for others and supported missions to Haiti and other countries. She was a praying woman, and a strong Christian. When she was diagnosed with a rare, deadly cancer, she faced it with courage and strength. She never feared death. Mom was curious, and she could beat just about anyone when playing Jeopardy on the computer. She'd answer a question, and my dad would cry out, "How in the world do you know that??" I miss her daily emails, and her, "Hi, honey!" she'd give when I would call her. She didn't like drive-through windows or pumping her own gas, and she never quite figured out all the ins and outs of her cell phone, but she was so smart. She absolutely loved fabric, and collected it, with plans to sew up all sorts of dresses. She loved going to thrift stores and garage sales, too, and taught my son, Jack, about getting good bargains at the grocery store. To this day, he thinks of Grandma when he buys something at a great price.
I like to think of her, in heaven, checking out all the flowers and trees that we don't have here, and of her telling Jesus about us (even though He knows), and I see her climbing on the Tree of Life and walking those golden streets. I wonder if heaven has garage sales. :-)
She was my mom, and a giving, wonderful, awesome woman. I miss her terribly.
Joan Daleth Spurgeon Bowman was born in Perry, Iowa, on December 20, 1936, to Harry and Marjorie Welker Spurgeon. She was raised by her maternal grandparents, Ray and Josephine Belle Welker for most of her youth, on a small farm in Bouton, Iowa. She graduated from a Des Moines, Iowa, High School, then went on to attain her associates degree in elementary education from Grandview College. Back then all a teacher needed was a 2 year degree, so Joan began to teach 4th grade in Pleasantville, Iowa. After meeting and marrying her husband, Richard M. Bowman, on June 14, 1959, Joan quit teaching professionally and began raising their children.
Joan and Richard first moved to Edingburg, IL, where Richard took a church. Their first child, Cindy, was born in Taylorville, IL at that time. They moved to Decatur, Il, and he began preaching at First Christian Church there. They lived in Decatur for many years, and four more children, Michelle, Gary, Daniel, and Jean, were born and raised there.
She was an amazing woman. She cared for others and supported missions to Haiti and other countries. She was a praying woman, and a strong Christian. When she was diagnosed with a rare, deadly cancer, she faced it with courage and strength. She never feared death. Mom was curious, and she could beat just about anyone when playing Jeopardy on the computer. She'd answer a question, and my dad would cry out, "How in the world do you know that??" I miss her daily emails, and her, "Hi, honey!" she'd give when I would call her. She didn't like drive-through windows or pumping her own gas, and she never quite figured out all the ins and outs of her cell phone, but she was so smart. She absolutely loved fabric, and collected it, with plans to sew up all sorts of dresses. She loved going to thrift stores and garage sales, too, and taught my son, Jack, about getting good bargains at the grocery store. To this day, he thinks of Grandma when he buys something at a great price.
I like to think of her, in heaven, checking out all the flowers and trees that we don't have here, and of her telling Jesus about us (even though He knows), and I see her climbing on the Tree of Life and walking those golden streets. I wonder if heaven has garage sales. :-)
Joan Daleth Spurgeon Bowman was born in Perry, Iowa, on December 20, 1936, to Harry and Marjorie Welker Spurgeon. She was raised by her maternal grandparents, Ray and Josephine Belle Welker for most of her youth, on a small farm in Bouton, Iowa. She graduated from a Des Moines, Iowa, High School, then went on to attain her associates degree in elementary education from Grandview College. Back then all a teacher needed was a 2 year degree, so Joan began to teach 4th grade in Pleasantville, Iowa. After meeting and marrying her husband, Richard M. Bowman, on June 14, 1959, Joan quit teaching professionally and began raising their children.
Joan and Richard first moved to Edingburg, IL, where Richard took a church. Their first child, Cindy, was born in Taylorville, IL at that time. They moved to Decatur, Il, and he began preaching at First Christian Church there. They lived in Decatur for many years, and four more children, Michelle, Gary, Daniel, and Jean, were born and raised there.
She was an amazing woman. She cared for others and supported missions to Haiti and other countries. She was a praying woman, and a strong Christian. When she was diagnosed with a rare, deadly cancer, she faced it with courage and strength. She never feared death. Mom was curious, and she could beat just about anyone when playing Jeopardy on the computer. She'd answer a question, and my dad would cry out, "How in the world do you know that??" I miss her daily emails, and her, "Hi, honey!" she'd give when I would call her. She didn't like drive-through windows or pumping her own gas, and she never quite figured out all the ins and outs of her cell phone, but she was so smart. She absolutely loved fabric, and collected it, with plans to sew up all sorts of dresses. She loved going to thrift stores and garage sales, too, and taught my son, Jack, about getting good bargains at the grocery store. To this day, he thinks of Grandma when he buys something at a great price.
I like to think of her, in heaven, checking out all the flowers and trees that we don't have here, and of her telling Jesus about us (even though He knows), and I see her climbing on the Tree of Life and walking those golden streets. I wonder if heaven has garage sales. :-)
