It is with profound sadness that we announce that James Norman Bowen was called home to the Lord on November 3rd, 2022.
Jim, as his friends and family knew him, was born during the Great Depression and grew up as the second oldest son of five children of Wesley Fredrick Bowen and Edna Pearl Butterworth Bowen. Times were tough for the modest family in Columbus, Ohio.
The Bowen family were Protestants. But having grown up in a largely Catholic community, Jim was compelled by the Catholic faith. He once asked his mother about converting. However, she sternly told him that he would be disowned under no uncertain terms. “You would no longer be my son.”
So Jim kept his feelings about his faith private. He did however save enough money on his $0.25 hourly wage to buy a gold pendant of Saint Joseph that he always kept close to his heart. He still had it in his final days.
Years later, Jim attended Ohio State University for two years. Then, after his brother Richard and his classmates were drafted, he volunteered to join the Navy during the Korean War where he served as a hospital corpsman, treating our soldiers who had been injured from the frontlines.
While in the Navy, Jim had the good fortune to literally travel around the globe on the U.S.S. Tarawa, spreading the goodwill of the United States to nearly every continent on the planet during its world cruise.
While in port in Australia, he visited an out-of-the-way monastery, a trip that took several hours on a trolley through the hot desert landscape. The monks were not expecting visitors, so they were thrilled to end their vows of silence to entertain an unexpected guest, who brought tales of the war and of his adventures traveling the world. They were even more surprised by his deep love for the Catholic faith, despite being raised Protestant, and his request that the monks baptize him that very day. They enjoyed an impromptu celebration by feasting afterwards. This was one of Jim’s favorite memories. He often wondered if the monks fondly recalled this celebration as well in the following years.
After officially joining the Catholic faith, Jim was even more fortunate to personally meet Pope Pius XII and receive a blessing from him in a small room in the Vatican with other Catholic sailors from his ship. It was a meeting of a lifetime!
All told, Jim was extremely proud to have served his country in the Navy, especially in defense of the Korean War. And he felt very blessed to have finally found his faith as he found his way in the world.
While in the Navy, Jim earned the Navy Occupation Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, China Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and Good Conduct Medal. His rank upon his honorable discharge was Hospital Corpsman, Second Class.
Once he returned home, Jim started openly practicing his Catholic faith. His mother was not pleased, but she was so happy to have her son home safe from the war that she grudgingly accepted his decision. Years later, she gifted him some rosary beads. She did it quietly and simply, but it was a huge gesture that showed him how much she loved him and that she finally accepted him fully as his true self.
Jim will be buried holding the rosary beads that his mother graciously gifted him that day.
After returning home from the Navy, Jim graduated from the prestigious Gradwohl School of Laboratory Technique and became a successful medical technologist.
Jim had two sons from his first marriage in Georgia and then had three more children with his second wife, Frances, with whom he was married for nearly 50 years until her passing from a stroke in March 2021. Jim and Frances were residents of Lake County for over 45 years.
Jim celebrated his Scottish heritage by teaching Scottish Country Dance and dancing with Frances at Scottish Highland festivals around the country. He even designed a personal family crest, with a saber representing his time in the military and a wood saw representing the artistic and creative side of his wife, Frances. He visited Scotland twice and even renewed his wedding vows with Frances at Gretna Green, a famous site for elopements since the mid 1700s. Although bagpipers are commonplace at funerals, the bagpiper present at Jim’s service is in memory of Jim’s celebration of his Scottish culture.
For much of his life, Jim sported a beard that eventually turned white. He also had bright, twinkling blue eyes full of glee, and a full midsection that jiggled when he laughed, which he did often. So every year, he made a very convincing Santa Claus at family gatherings and at various events at his hospital, local schools, and parades. He shared this hobby with his brother, Richard, who also is the spitting image of Old Saint Nick! Both loved spreading the joy of Christmas in their communities.
In his elder years, Jim joined the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization within the Catholic Church. He became a Fourth Degree Knight and joined the Honor Guard, serving at weddings, funerals, and other important events. The Knights of Columbus provided Jim with friendship and fellowship and gave him purpose and hope. His family is forever grateful that the Honor Guard will celebrate Jim’s life as a fellow Knight at his memorial service, as it was Jim’s final wish that his Brother Knights be there to send him on his way to eternal life.
Jim was proud to have worn two uniforms during his lifetime: one as a Navy hospital corpsman when he served his country during the Korean War, and one as a Knight of Columbus when he served his faith. He served both with all of his heart.
Jim will be buried wearing his Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus uniform and sword. He wished to meet the Lord wearing the garments he wore while in His service.
Although Jim lived a long and full life, his family is saddened by his passing from cancer and dementia. May he be whole and at peace in the presence of the Lord and be lovingly welcomed into Heaven by his family and friends who passed before him.
Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Frances T. Bowen; his father, Wesley Fredrick Bowen; his mother, Edna Pearl Butterworth Bowen; his brother Wesley Fredrick Bowen, Jr.; and his sister Cheryl Eilene Shaw.
Jim is survived by his brother, Richard Bowen; his sister Bonnie Lee Paul; his brother-in-law, William J. Tebow, Jr.; Danny Fisher, the partner of his late sister Cheryl Shaw; his children, Norman Bowen (Jo), Shannon Bowen, Jerrell Dayton King (Donna), Elizabeth Cartwright, and Dena Terressa Morris (Allen); his grandchildren, including: Austin King, Sawyer King, Benjamin Morris, Sarah Morris, Abigail Morris, Jonathan Morris, Melanie Kalmanson, and Courtney Kalmanson; his nieces Cindi Motz and Suzy Parrott; and his grandnieces Johnna Maynard, Rebecca Maynard Greenman, Jennifer Maynard-Cortes, and Tina Ladner. Jim was also fortunate to have a large extended family including Linda Robinson, Beth Morris, Donna Morris, Jeannette Morris, Jody Baum, Fiona Baum, and Dallas Baum.
The viewing will be held at the Page-Theus Funeral Home chapel in Leesburg, Florida from 7:00-9:30 AM on Tuesday, November 15th. The memorial service will then be held at 10:00 AM at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. Following the service, Jim will receive full military honors from the Navy at his graveside at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.
All are welcome to come celebrate Jim’s life with his family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, please kindly consider donating to one of these worthy organizations in memory of Jim:
The American Legion
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Knights of Columbus Charities
The Alzheimer’s Association
The American Cancer Society
If anyone is unable to attend the Wake Service, you may watch a live streaming of the service by following the link be. It will also be recorded for future viewing by following the same link.
http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/80809/hash:023183E049E3004D
