Ronald Thomas “Ron” Bowers, 74, of Baker City, died Feb. 9, 2006, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Lennie Spooner of the First Church of the Nazarene will officiate. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Ron was born on May 26, 1932, at Baker City to Ernest Theodore and Neva Ball Bowers. He was reared by his paternal grandparents, Omar Bowers and Birdie Anne Reed “Dot” Bowers.
He was a Baker High School graduate. He married Nancy Jean Holloway in August 1969. Ron was both patriotic and community-minded.
He was a long and faithful member of the Lions Club, the Odd Fellows Lodge and the Grange. He was a past member of the Jaycees and the Historical Society and a life member of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
At times he was a member of the Eagles Lodge, the Oregon National Guard, the Baker Ground Observer Corps, the Cancer Society, the Oregon Hunters Association and the Powder River Camera Club.
His was a life of active service and he held numerous offices. He won statewide awards in the groups in which he served. Ron appreciated his Bend pioneer heritage and worked with his aunt, Belle Reed, to preserve history of both the family and Eastern Oregon.
Ron had a strong faith and enjoyed membership in the Baker City Church of the Nazarene. Church members continued to disciple him even after he developed limited mobility and found it necessary to move to Meadowbrook Place.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Nancy; and his brother, Willis “Bill” Marion Bowers and Bill’s wife, Jill.
He is survived by his brother’s children, Robert Bowers Sr., Margaret Bowers, Clodgo, Karen Bowers Chester, Lola Bowers McArthery, Billijane Bowers Walton, Ronald Ernest Bowers and their families; his in-laws, Jeanette Jampolsky, Diana Becker, Sammye and Moe Linzel, Curtis Holloway, Gabrielle Starr; and many nieces and nephews. He will be missed by numerous “cousins,” especially Colleen Jones, Donald Hand and Jo-Elyn Hand.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lions Eye Bank through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, February 17, 2006
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor