Elwayne Chris "Bill" Stowe

Elwayne Chris Stowe, known as “Bill” since a very small boy, was born into the family of Leon M. Stowe and Aletta Mae (Biller) Stowe, the youngest of seven children on June 24, 1924 in Wild Rose, Wisconsin.

Both parents were devoted Christians, his father was an itinerant evangelist on weekends, a hardworking woodsman and carpenter during the week. His mother had the unusual lifetime goal of never speaking evil of anyone. A wall motto was a solemn reminder, “Say nothing you would not want to be saying when Jesus comes.”

Primary education was, for the most part, at the Fairchild public school, secondary education at Glen Flora, both in Wisconsin. Some of his particular interests during these years were basketball, baseball, and hunting, first with a slingshot, later with a single shot .22 caliber rifle. His spending money came from milking a cow morning and evenings for neighbors. He hoped to have his own dairy farm some day.

The spiritual turning point in his life came at the age of 18 when, alone on a gravel road near the now extinct railroad crossing known as “Yarnell,” he prayed, “Lord Jesus, I give myself to you, and I want you to make me yours for the rest of my life.” He had wanted to live without God; thereafter his passion was to live wholly for Him.

It was during his senior year in high school that our country entered World War II. The small Christian group that met at the Yarnell schoolhouse had two ministers; one believed a young man should be willing to kill for his country, the other did not believe killing an enemy was consistent with the teachings of Jesus. Eventually, Bill signed the Selective Service papers as a conscientious objector. He was placed in a Civilian Public Service facility where the work done by the men was deemed of national importance but had no military significance.

He was married to Audrey Tomlinson in 1950. To them were born eight children. His eight children are Connie Dulohery, Kathy Grover, Ronald Stowe, Richard Stowe, Gary Stowe, Mary Kay Watson, Robert Stowe, and David Stowe. He is grandfather to 23, of whom 22 are still living, and great grandfather to 33 great-/step-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, one granddaughter, and his wife.

His vocation was that of a medical laboratory technician, practicing that vocation for 31 years at Methodist Hospital laboratory in Sioux City, Iowa, and in a lab at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas; and after Audrey's departure to be with Christ in 1987, in the country of Yemen, first with Peace Corps and later with a Christian medical group.

In his sunrise years (changed from “sunset” when one of his sons pointed out that things actually get brighter as a Christian gets closer and closer to home), Bill's favorite pastime was walking a woodsy hiking trail while reviewing chapters from the Bible that he had committed to memory earlier, and quietly singing songs of worship – some of them homemade. He also enjoyed writing; and he put together many booklets about the family and about his experiences stateside and overseas, as well as booklets containing Bible thoughts and poems, which culminated in his writing a book published in 2017 by WestBow Press entitled “Elwayne's Exhortations.”

In his eighties, he voluntarily answered Bible questions for GotQuestions Ministries (an internet service) – a labor of love which was a source of much joy to him and, he trusted, of blessing to hundreds of questioners whose questions he prayerfully and painstakingly answered.

Bill went to be with the Lord on August 23, 2025. According to his wishes, no public memorial is planned.