Martha Elizabeth Gilman Bower

1935 - 2025

Martha Elizabeth Gilman (MEG) Bower

Contoocook, NH - Martha (Meg) Bower, age 90, passed away in her sleep on Saturday, September 27th at the Bellamy Falls Facility in Dover, New Hampshire.

Martha was known for her infective personality, her love of life and people, and for her love of playing tennis. She believed tennis kept her youthful, and she continued to play into her eighties.

Martha was born in Malden, Massachusetts on February 1, 1935 to Stephen Joseph and Lillian Gilman. She attended Malden's local schools, after which she began her academic career at Tufts University. In 1955 she married Erlend Jacobsen-they had three children together, Erik, Evan, and Hilse. Tragically, in 1980, Erik's life was cut short by a motorcycle accident.

Martha finally earned her batchelor's degree at Goddard College in Vermont, and soon after--after she and Mr. Jacobsen divorced--she met Paul Bower. They were married for forty-eight wonderful years. Martha and Paul were partners in several adventures including owning a ski shop in New Hampshire, and a tavern in Vermont.

In 1970 Martha and Paul had a house built in Contoocook where Martha spent the next fifty years. Martha loved her community and was also a member of the Unitarian Church in Concord.

After acquiring her master's degree at Dartmouth College, Martha set up a pottery workshop in her basement, helped run the ski shop, and co-piloted many a plane ride with pilot Paul.

In 1979 she decided to study for her PhD at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), and graduated in 1985 with her dissertation on Eugene O'Neill. She taught at UNH for ten years and then for fifteen years at the University of Pennsylvania where she was honored as a professor emerita in 2005. She continued writing on an O'Neill scholarship and published three books about O'Neill, and one on African-American women playwrights. Her research at Yale University won her recognition as an O'Neill scholar when she uncovered and translated unpublished material on O'Neill's cycle plays. She also wrote poems and stories throughout her life.

Martha is survived by two children, Evan J Jacobsen and Hilse M Jacobsen, and two grandchildren, John J and Evan M Jacobsen. Fun loving and lively to the end, she will be missed by all who came to know and love her.

There will be a private gathering in the coming days. There will be an open memorial at the Unitarian Church in Concord -- date to be announced.