PAUL VERNON BOWMAN

Paul Vernon Bowman of Independence, MO, passed away Oct. 26, 2011 at Carmel Hills Care Center. Visitation will be Sunday, Oct. 30th from 2-4pm at the McGilley & Sheil Chapel with a Masonic service following. Funeral service at 10am at the chapel on Monday. Burial in Floral Hills Cemetery, 7000 Blue Ridge Blvd. Paul was born on July 30, 1922 in Eureka Springs, AR, to Jacob & Claudine Stephenson Collins Bowman. His paternal grandparents were John & Charlotte Moon Bowman. His maternal grandparents were William & Augusta Helms Collins. He attended Pitcher Grade School & Raytown High School; graduating in 1940. In Aug. 1938, Paul enlisted in the National Guard when he was 16 and was assigned to the 110th Engineers in KCMO. He served for 2 yrs and 5 months & was discharged in Jan. 1941. In Sept. 1942 he enlisted into the Army Air Corps at Fort Leavenworth, KS & served until Feb. 1946, where he was honorably discharged as a Corporal at Camp Beale, CA. Paul joined the KC Police Dept in 1947 and left there in 1951 to move to Santa Monica, CA, where he married Dorothy Ruth Salmon on Oct. 13, 1951. He worked in the insurance business until 1954 when they moved back to the KC area. From 1954-1956 he worked as a salesman at the Rudy Fick Ford dealership. He then re-joined the KC Police Dept in 1956, retiring in 1981. He was a Patrol Officer, drove a 3-wheel motorcycle, was an expert witness in traffic court & occasionally worked off-duty on horseback for events at Benjamin Stables. Paul was also a Deputy Sheriff for Jackson County & a Field Investigator with the County Coroner's Office. Paul believed that he held the record for having served under the most KC Police Chiefs. After retiring, Paul owned a furniture store for a few years & then worked as a realtor for Hatfield Realty in Lee's Summit, MO. He also bought and sold cars, sometimes owning 12 or more cars during a given year. He was an avid collector of coins, stamps, record albums, pocket knives & antique furniture. He was a life-long member of the Masonic fraternity & received his 50-yr pin from Mt. Hope Lodge #476 in Odessa, MO; which was presented to him by his 6-yr old grandson. He was also named Big Silent Black Eagle as an Honorary Warrior in the Scouting Tribe of Mic-O- Say. Paul was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Ruth in 2009; his brother, John Bowman in 1990 and a sister, Rebecca Bowman Swearinger in 2008. He leaves his son, Jeffrey Bowman (Tierney Sue) & two grandchildren, Lucas and Jamie all of Blue Springs, MO; his sister, Emily Bowman Smith; his sister-in-law, Norma Bowman & many nephews, nieces and friends. Donations in lieu of flowers are encouraged in Paul's name to the Boy Scouts, HOAC Mic-O-Say Trust Fund (10210 Holmes KCMO 64131) God Bless the nurses & staff at Carmel Hills in Indep., MO, who treated Paul like a king. M