Mary Nita Ann Curtis Bower

Mary Ann Curtis Bower had a long, interesting life that started on a spinach farm in Crystal City, saw her graduate from college in Denton, work in Dallas, and then marry and raise a family. Along the way, the thread that ran through her life was art. She graduated with a degree in design and art history from what is now Texas Women's University, she traveled widely as the spouse of a U.S. foreign aid worker, and she pursued multiple artistic endeavors as an early patron of the Victoria Bach Festival and an active member of fiber artist guilds in Victoria and San Antonio. She made quilts and did needlepoint and other fine needlework. Her largest project was to guide the creation of the needlepoint kneelers at St. Francis Episcopal Church, where she was an active member from her arrival in Victoria in 1970 until her death Sept. 1 from pulmonary disease.

Born May 1, 1929, Mary Ann was known as "Nita" to her family and old friends. She was the second of three girls born to Mary Annie Robinson and John Parker Curtis, of Waco and San Antonio, respectively. On Oct. 3, 1953, she married James Edward Bower, of Shawnee, Okla. Like her father, Jim was a career employee of the USDA's Soil Conservation Service, now known as the Natural Resource Conservation Service. In 1964, Jim Bower embarked on a new career phase as an agronomist with the U.S. Agency for International Development and was posted to Tunis, Tunisia for six years. The young couple had two children, and took advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime to immerse themselves in a new culture and travel extensively, visiting the great art museums of Europe and archeological sites ringing the Mediterranean Sea. Mary Ann became an expert on the symbolism of the Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine civilizations, especially the symbols of early Christianity. For the American and British diplomatic communities, she was the go-to tour guide for the Tunisian antiquity museums. She also was active on the Altar Guild of Tunis' St. George's Anglican Church. In 1970, Jim and Mary Ann returned stateside, to Victoria, where Jim resumed his career in the USDA and Mary Ann became active in the local art community. Mary Ann also was active in the Bronte Club and with the Altar Guild and choir of St. Francis Episcopal Church and served on the vestry for several terms. "The thing I remember the most about Mary Ann was that when she was head of the Altar Guild, she was meticulous about the way things were done," said lifelong friend, Martha Bernhardt. "She wanted it done right, and she did it in a quiet way." Mary Ann and Martha first got to know one another as teenagers at church summer camp, Martha recalled. In fact, Mary Ann was an avid letter writer, and maintained close ties with friends around the world all of her life.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Mary Ellen, in 1956; her husband, Jim, in 2006; and her sister, Nancy Jane Curtis Huettl, in 2015.

She is survived by her sister, Hannah Curtis, of Abilene; her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas Bower and Kristina Paledes, who reside in Guadalupe County; her daughter, Julia Bower, of Victoria; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Mary Ann's extended family wishes to generously thank in-home caregivers Pattie Butler, Flora Louise Rucker, Margaret Stone, and Shirley Barnes for their tender care, as well as the dedicated RNs of Hospice of South Texas.

Family and friends will be received at a visitation from 2 to 6 pm on Saturday, September 9, 2017 at Colonial Funeral Home, Victoria, Texas. A graveside service will be held at 12:00 pm on Friday, September 15, 2017 at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, Texas. Memorial contributions can be made to the charity of your choice.

Condolences and memories may be shared with family at www.colonialfuneralhomevictoria.com