Jean Margaret Bowman

BOWMAN (McCLENAHAN), Jean Margaret, age 96, passed away peacefully into the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on November 4, 2020, under the excellent care of the Franciscan Hospice House in Indianapolis. She was a faithful Christian and member of Southport (Indiana) Presbyterian Church for more than 60 years. She also taught for 31 years in Perry Township. Throughout her life, she volunteered often and was a generous soul. “If we have enough money,” she wrote, “we should share what we can.” Jean was born on December 24, 1923, to the late Wallace Stewart and Margaret (Craig) McClenahan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is survived by sons Arthur Wallace Bowman (Nancy) and Paul Craig Bowman (Susan) seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Jean is preceded in death by her son, David Hampton Bowman. Jean earned a B.A. in secondary education at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. She began teaching in 1956 in Del Rio, Texas. She spent six years teaching first grade to Spanish speaking children while working on her masters in elementary education, which she earned at Southwest Texas University. She was hired in 1962 to teach first grade in Perry Township. She taught at University Heights School until it closed in 1968 and moved Clinton Young Elementary, where she sometimes taught the children of earlier students, before retiring in 1993. Retirement did not mean the end of helping others, however, as Jean volunteered to help children with reading and math. As a child, she volunteered in the church dining room and sang in the youth choir. At Southport Presbyterian, she is most famously known as the baby rocker in the nursery for more than 40 years. She was active in the Presbyterian Women, was part of the 300 club, Duos, Joy Fellowship and served on the Senior Fellowship Committee. Still volunteering in retirement, she washed dishes for the Southport Presbyterian elementary school. When women elders were not common, Jean was named an Elder by church leadership. Jean was an adventurous soul with an inexhaustible appetite for travel and adventure. A notorious note taker, her travelogue begins, “I don’t claim to be a great speller.” Her travels included lots of U.S. states, several cruises, many countries in Europe (Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, and Istanbul), England, an African safari and several weeks in Australia and New Zealand. At age 60 she joined her sister Mary’s family rafting down the Colorado River and then, at trip’s end, hiking out of the Grand Canyon. Jean’s greatest joys in later years were her grandchildren -- Erin Bowman Watkins (Tyler), Alexander Falanga (Renata), Megan Bowman Hayes (Nicholas), Heather Bowman Tompkins (Dillon), Kelsey Bowman, Benjamin Bowman and Rachel Bowman Cyrdus (Dakoda) -- and her great grandchildren (Eleanor and Emerson Hayes, Agent and Conrad Watkins, and Makenna Falanga). The family will hold a memorial service at a later date. For those wishing to honor Jean’s memory the family requests that memorial donations be made to Southport Presbyterian Church (7525 McFarland Blvd, Indianapolis, Indiana 46237) or The Salvation Army (Attn: Delana/Memorials, 6060 Castleway West Drive. Indianapolis, Indiana 46250 – www.centralusa.salvationarmy.org/indiana). Arrangements are entrusted to Shirley Brothers Mortuaries & Crematory, Washington Memorial Chapel.

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Jean Margaret Bowman

December 24, 1923 - November 4, 2020