James Monroe Bowen

September 5, 1940 - December 6, 2016

James Monroe Bowen was born September 5, 1940, in Lamar, CO to Wiley and Esther Bowen, the youngest of four children. He joined the heavenly choir to sing praises to his Lord, Savior and King on December 6, 2016, in the comfort of his home.

James attended Lamar High School where he played baseball and football and went on to attend Bible College in California and eventually graduated from Colorado Christian University. He was a man of many talents and explored many career paths during his lifetime including owning and managing restaurants, construction, truck driving, selling real estate and insurance as well as doing insurance adjusting and many other pursuits. His greatest love was leading worship services and singing for the Lord. James spent several years as a missionary and pastor for Harvesting in Spanish in El Salvador where he was helping build an orphanage when he had his first heart attack.

James married Marylou Gaydon in 1959, and they adopted two boys, James Alan Bowen and Craig Edward (Julie) Bowen. They later divorced and James married Kathy Peck in 1999, and added three more sons to the family, Ben (Lisa) Peck, Derrick Peck and Nick (Amber) Peck. He was very proud of his five boys; ten grandchildren and great-granddaughter and loved to have large family get-togethers. In addition to his children and grandchildren, James is survived by his sisters, Mary Nielsen of Syracuse, KS and Armilda (Lee) Williams of Dalhart, TX; many nieces and nephews; his cousin, Boyd (Mary) Hawver in Canon City, CO, and special friend and fellow Bronco fan, Richard (Sandy) Height in Denver, CO.

A memorial service will be held at Clifton Christian Church, 3241 F Rd. on December 14th at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to HopeWest or Emmanuel Baptist Church Building Fund. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gjsentinel/obituary.aspx?n=james-bowen&pid=183068239#sthash.IKu285Od.dpuf