Linda Jean Wylie Bowman went to be with the Lord, surrounded by family and friends, at her beloved home in Celeste, Texas on November 3rd, 2022. She was born in Huntington, West Virginia on December 19th, 1950, and grew up on the banks of the Ohio River in Chesapeake, Ohio. Growing up, she developed a love of swimming. She was a member of Riverside Swim Club and the YMCA Huntington Swim Club. Later in life, she continued this love through U.S. Masters Swimming, even competing in a distance swim in Egg Harbor Bay in Atlantic City. She taught her children and grandchildren to swim, and lifeguarding and teaching water classes over the years gave her more treasured opportunities to be in the pool. As a teenager, Linda played the flute and marched with the Chesapeake High School Band. She enjoyed being part of the youth group at Chesapeake United Methodist Church and was active in Youth For Christ. She graduated from high school in 1968, and later with honors from West Virginia Northern Community College. She married Francis “Wayne” Bowman on December 20, 1969, and shortly afterward they moved to Chicago, where they had their two children. They followed Wayne’s railroad career back to West Virginia, where they spent 12 years in the small river town of Paden City. While there, Linda served on the Park and Pool Commission and started a youth swim team. The family relocated to Pittsburgh in 1985. In the North Hills of Pittsburgh, Linda worked as an event planner for McDonald’s, where her creative efforts earned numerous awards. While raising her own children, Linda embraced many others who came to love her as a mother. Linda and Wayne attended Christ Church at Grove Farm and found lots of opportunities to be active there. When her own teenagers were grown, she served with Young Life as both a committee member and a leader. She took local kids to summer camp and also volunteered during Young Lives weeks at camp, caring for babies while their teen mothers enjoyed a week of fun and hearing about Jesus. She was a joyful person with a contagious laugh. Her adventurous spirit led her to try skydiving on one occasion. Linda became “Mammy” when her first grandchild was born, and embraced that role wholeheartedly, from sewing Halloween costumes and collecting seashells at the beach to holding “Mammy Camp” during the summers and serving up waffles and ice cream for breakfasts. Wayne and Linda retired to Texas in 2011. Their lovely home in Celeste became a venue for warm gatherings of family and friends, like their fantastic annual Easter Egg Hunt. She found an extended family at Higher Trails Cowboy Church and loved volunteering there with Vacation Bible School, fitness classes, decorating for holidays, and helping at the annual rodeo. Linda embraced Texas as her home but remained an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. She was always involved in a project, from filling Wayne’s honey-do list to tending her flowerbeds. Linda had many joys in life, but she would tell you that her deepest joy was the relationship she had with the Lord Jesus. Her overarching ambition was to share Him with all those she loved.
Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Donald Ray and Jean Ann Noll Wylie, and her grandson, Benjamin Ray Martin. Her memory will be lovingly cherished by her husband of 52 years, Francis “Wayne” Bowman; son, Donald Merrill (Natalie) Bowman of Pittsburgh, PA; daughter, Mary Catherine “Cassie” (Cory) Martin of Celina, TX; grandchildren, Alexandria Catherine (Jesus) Morales, Jacob Wayne Bowman, Hayley Marie Perez, Carli Elizabeth Martin, Corinna Marie Martin, and Isaiah Paul Martin; great-grandchildren, Ariel Eve Morales, Elena Faye Morales, and Javier Jesus Morales; brother, Richard Ray (Jill) Wylie; and beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Family and friends are invited to Linda’s memorial service at Higher Trails Cowboy Church in Merit, Texas on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
