Donnie Bowman

1934 - 2020

Donnie Leon Bowman
January 31, 1934 - November 26, 2020
While living in Elk City, Oklahoma, B.T. and Minnie Bowman welcomed their eighth child, Donnie Leon, on January 31, 1934. Donnie's family moved West when he was eight months old, where they followed the harvest, moving from state to state to make a living. At the age of five, Donnie learned to work alongside his family. He was the best shoeblack in town, taking half of a can of polish and an hour to make those farmers' muddy boots shine, for 5 cents. After graduating from Homedale High in 1951, Don joined the Navy and served on a seaplane tender during the Korean War. In 1953, God, for Christ's sake, forgave him of all of his sins. Three months later, God sanctified his heart. While in port at Iwakuni, Japan, God called Don to preach. He began preaching the protestant services right there on the ship, In 1954, Don was discharged from the Navy, and enrolled in Northwest Nazarene College. On April 27, 1956, he married his sweetheart, Grace Watson, daughter of Challen and Margaret Watson. After pastoring in Nebraska, Washington, and Oregon, the Don Bowman family, which now included three children, became missionaries to Japan. For 17 years, they literally sacrificed their lives to bring the Gospel to the dear Japanese people. By the time they returned to the States in 1982, they had lost their first four children to a tragic accident, and had three more children born to them! In 1983, Don was elected to be the General Foreign Missions Secretary and faithfully served for the next 32 years, traveling all over the world, proclaiming the wonderful salvation through Jesus Christ. Though Don suffered a major physical setback in 2017, he miraculously recovered! However, he recently began suffering from cold-like symptoms. It looked like he was getting better, but on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, at 11:17 pm, after spending most of the day with his family on earth gathered around him, he peacefully went to spend the rest of Thanksgiving with his family in Heaven. His life here is over, but his real life is just beginning!
The viewing will be at the Homedale Bible Missionary Church on Wednesday from 6:00-8:00 pm. Funeral services will be held at the Caldwell Christian Church in Caldwell, Idaho, on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 10:00 am.