John Henry Bowman

John Henry Bowman, born in 1922 in Goldthwaite, Texas, passed away on Friday, September 2, 2016, at St. Catherine’s Center in Waco. A graveside service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco on Tuesday, September 6 at 11:00 a.m. John attended Goldthwaite public schools and studied at Howard Payne College for a year before leaving to enlist in the Army Air Corps at age 19 at the beginning of WWII. While serving as a pilot and flight instructor in Merced, CA, he married Billie Scott, who travelled there by train from San Angelo, Texas with her mother and future sister-in-law, Clara. John served in the Air Force for almost 30 years and retired with the rank of Colonel. While still in the Air Force, he completed his bachelor’s degree at McKendree College in Lebanon, IL. His final posting was in Washington, D.C., as Commander of the Air Force Postal and Courier Service. During his career, John and Billie were stationed in California, Illinois, Alabama, South Carolina, Nebraska, Colorado, Hawaii, Virginia, and Texas. He also served one-year tours as a flight instructor in Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. After his retirement in 1976, he and Billie moved to San Angelo where Billie had grown up and where her parents, Katy and Steve Scott, still lived. From 1979 to 1985 he was a pilot for Pool Well Servicing Co. until his second retirement. In San Angelo, John and Billie were members of First Baptist Church and later Southland Baptist Church, where he was a deacon. They were avid golfers and bridge players. In 2010 they moved to Waco to be near family. John was preceded in death by his daughter, Betsy Taylor (husband Tom Taylor) and also by his parents, Marjorie T. and Frank P. Bowman, and sisters, Virginia Moore and Clara Graves. A devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, John leaves behind his beloved wife of 73 years, Billie Scott Bowman; his daughter, Judy, and her husband, Jim Leavell, of Greenville, SC; son-in-law, Tom Taylor, of Cornville, AZ; grandchildren Katy Taylor, Michael Taylor, and Michael’s wife Jennifer; and his great grandchildren, Mason and Hailey Taylor, all of Waco. He was a loving uncle to his nieces and nephews. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.