Menu
Larry Lincoln Bowen
Larry Lincoln Bowen
Nov. 7, 1933 - Jan. 6, 2015
GRAPEVINE, Texas -- On Nov. 7, 1933, Larry Lincoln Bowen and Jerry James Bowen were born at their maternal grandparents' home in Kearney, Nebraska, to Dean and Erma Lincoln Bowen. The kitchen oven served as an incubator for the tiny boys. Sadly, Jerry only lived for 12 days, but little Larry persevered and lived a long, full life, dying at the age of 81.
Larry spent his childhood on Nebraska farms, where he "formed ties with the earth and the farming animals and growing things." (Willa Cather) Larry began school in a one-room schoolhouse, District 21, west of Culbertson, Nebraska, and graduated from Culbertson High School in 1952. He immediately joined the United States Navy, serving for 10 years. Two of those years he was stationed in Japan and ended his military service at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California. During the following years, he worked at a variety of jobs, and for several years ran a clock repair business. He also worked for Optimum Systems Inc. He retired from IBM in 1991.
Larry was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Grapevine, the Ear Lobes, the Dallas-Fort Worth Scrollers and the Grapevine Masonic Lodge. He was initiated as an entered apprentice in 1959 and was raised to the degree of Master Mason in the Culbertson, Lodge No. 174 in November 1960. He affiliated with the Grapevine Masonic Lodge No. 288 in December 1986. He received his 50-year pin as a master Mason in 2010.
In 1965, Larry and Jo Anne McCauley wed in Walnut Creek, California, a marriage lasting for 49 years. Besides his wife, Jo, he is survived by his sisters, LoAnn Campbell of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and Nancy Sells (Dale) of Tampa, Florida; sister-in-law, Harriet Zachry of Concord, California; two nieces; four nephews; and several great-nieces and great-nephews. Another nephew, Matthew Sells, preceded him in death.
Henry David Thoreau, in "Walden," wrote, "To affect the quality of the day is the highest of arts." Larry affected the quality of the day for every person he met -- he never knew a stranger. He greeted everyone with his warm smile, his firm handshake and a story. During his life, news reporters wrote stories about him -- he would catch their attention with his distinctive handlebar mustache when he was out walking or riding his bike.
He spent his life pursuing dreams: doing woodworking, running for city council, becoming Sylvester (Vessie) the Clown, playing a guitar and banjo, pedaling his bike in a ride the length of Texas for AIDS, growing the hottest peppers he could find, riding a unicycle, planning during his last days to return to his garage workshop to use his scroll saw and always, always, meeting a new friend. Larry had "a special gift for simply loving people and for making them love him." (J. Forssman.)
A celebration of Larry's life was at the First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine, Texas, on Jan. 17, 2015. Memorial contributions can be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 1002 Park Blvd., Grapevine, TX 76051 or to the Grapevine Masonic Lodge, 403 S. Main Street, Grapevine, TX 76051.