Madge Durden Bowen

Madge Durden Bowen, 90, died Saturday, August 27th, at Sunrise at East Cobb, Marietta. She was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Homer S. Durden. She was married to the late Roy Ernest Bowen. A life-long resident of Swainsboro, she was a leader in her community, her church and her professions as teacher and librarian. Mrs. Bowen received the AB in Journalism from the University of Georgia, where she was a member of Phi Mu Fraternity. She began teaching at Swainsboro High School in 1954. In 1958, she was named "Teacher of the Year" for Emanuel County School Systems. She earned her masters degree in library science, followed by her six year degree at the University of Georgia. She managed the high school library until she retired in 1980. In 1971, Madge Bowen received a Federal Chapter Grant of $100,000, unprecedented for that time and the first grant of its kind in a Georgia school. With it, she purchased extensive audio and film resources. Later, she received a Georgia Public Television grant and installed one of the first closed-circuit television systems in a Georgia school. Also that year, Governor Jimmy Carter appointed Mrs. Bowen a member of the Georgia State Board of Certification for Librarians, the group who designed certification requirements for media specialists throughout the state. She was named to Marquis Who's Who of American Women in the 1974-75 edition.Mr. and Mrs. Bowen were founders of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepard in Swainsboro. Very active in church work throughout the Diocese of Georgia, they were dedicated to the civil rights principles established by the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs Board of Education decision in 1954. At the request of Bishop Albert Rhett Stuart, the Bowens joined priests and other lay members to foster peaceful change during the integration of Episcopal churches in Georgia. Madge Bowen was also instrumental in preserving the Community Center in Swainsboro, because she thought its availability to all people of the town was important. Mrs. Bowen served on a number of community boards including the Franklin Memorial Library (Emeritus) and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. She was a member of the Ida Belle Williams Book Club. In her honor, another club was established and named The Madge Durden Bowen Book Club. Mrs. Bowen is survived by her three children Midge Bowen Bennet of Middletown Connecticut, John T. Bowen of Roswell, and Stuart B. Bowen of Twin City, as well as their spouses, Douglas Bennet and Trudy Hodder Bowen. Mrs. Bowen's grandchildren are Elizabeth Ramsey Ho Chee, Rottenbauer,Germany; Richard F. Ramsey, New York; Kate Bowen Daniels, Woodstock; John Michael Bowen, Roswell; Justin Stuart Bowen, Mary McLeod Bowen and Vance Durden Bowen, Twin City. Great-grandchildren include Katherine Musamoa Ho Chee, Abigail Fealofani Ho Chee, Lillian Amanda Daniels, and Eleanor Zofia Bennet Ramsey. The family will be receiving friends and relatives at the Bowen home at 610 West Main Street, Swainsboro on Wednesday evening, September 7, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held the following day at Church of the Good Shepard at 2:00 p,m , followed by burial in the Swainsboro City Cemetery. All are invited to a reception at the Edenfield Inn afterward. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts in memory of Mrs. Bowen be made to the Madge Durden Bowen Young Readers' Fund at Franklin Memorial Library or the Church of the Good Shepard in Swainsboro. Peebles-Curry- Durden Mortuary Savannah Morning News, September 6, 2005 Please sign our Obituary Guestbook at www.savannahnow.com