BILL BOWDEN

BILL BOWDEN Graveside services for Bill Bowden are scheduled for Monday, April 1, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at Hillcrest Memorial Park. Visitation will take place Monday morning from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Craddock Funeral Home. Willie (Bill) Allen Bowden, age 101, passed away on March 25, 2024 in Ardmore, Oklahoma after an extended illness. Bill was an Ardmore resident since the 1940s, where he established his life and family. He was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on March 14, 1923, and was the oldest of ten children with parents Ruben Bowden and Annie (Williams) Bowden, a Dawes enrollee and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Bill attended primary school in rural Choctaw County, Oklahoma, walking several miles with his younger siblings to and from school each day. He was sent to the Chilocco Indian School in northern Oklahoma where he was taught industrial skills such as metal work. However, the conditions at the school were not ideal, so he returned to southern Oklahoma. He completed his training in metal work in Ardmore in July 1942 under the National Youth Administration for Oklahoma, and moved to the bay area of Northern California in 1942 to work at the shipyard in Richmond. He served his country during the Second World War by enlisting in the Navy in February 1943. He was assigned to the 81st Naval Construction Battalion, arriving in northern Scotland for training before the invasion of France in 1944. After several months in France, Bill returned to the US where he was reassigned to the 25th Naval Construction Battalion, sent to the Pacific and stationed in Guam. After being honorably discharged by the Navy in January 1946 as Carpenter's Mate Second Class, he returned to Oklahoma. He was employed at the Ben Franklin Refinery (Vickers Petroleum/Total Petroleum, currently Valero) in Ardmore for 42 years. After retiring, Bill enjoyed his time with his wife, children, extended family and friends. Bill married Helen Darlene (Perryman) Bowden on August 22, 1949, and they celebrated their 74th anniversary in 2023. Bill and Darlene were devoted and founding members of the Maxwell Avenue Church of Christ in Ardmore (now the Merrick Drive Church of Christ). Their church community was their life and source of strength, and Bill had many fond memories of church fellowships, travel with friends, and hosting domino parties at their home in Ardmore. A humble and quick-witted man with a wicked sense of humor, he was loved by all and deeply respected as a son, brother, husband, father, friend, work colleague, and connoisseur of all things fried, especially catfish and chicken fried steak (with extra gravy, of course). He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Robert Bowden and sister Alta Mapp. He is survived by his wife, his daughter, Brenda Clinton of Ardmore and her two children, Bryan Lee of Knoxville, Tennessee and Lauren Lee of Oklahoma City and great grandchildren, Lane, Kendall and Sophia; his son, Greg Bowden of Basking Ridge, New Jersey and his wife Dana and daughter Rebecca; brothers Charles Bowden and Bob Bowden, both of Ardmore, and Jim Bowden of Choctaw, Oklahoma; sisters Gladys Holt of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Novella Shebester of Madill, Oklahoma, Jean Cullum of Mead, Oklahoma, and Paula Phillips of Tucson, Arizona; as well as a large multitude of nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews and great grand nieces and nephews. The family would like to extend a thank you to Mercy Hospital for the care Bill received during his final days. Online condolences can be made at www.craddockfuneralhome.com