Stella Reid Bowers

Stella Wescott Reid called “Wecky” by her family and childhood friends was born in Sheridan Madison County Montana, where nearby her Uncle ‘Solly’ had a department store and her relatives, the Solbergs, second generation Norwegians excelled in native crafts, knitting, and weaving. Her mother, also named Stella, passed on a love for the arts in addition to high standards in home keeping. The family, including her dear younger brother, John, original free spirit of the family, moved to Longview, Washington. In Longview, father, Edgar P. Reid, a lawyer, became Judge and District Attorney, while her mother taught Home Economics. Due to mother Stella’s allergies, the family spent many winters in Palm Springs, California. While in Palm Springs, Stella formed her most vivid memories of glamorous ball dancing to the swing bands, especially Frank Sinatra. Stella graduated from Whitman College with a BA in Psychology, becoming a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, remaining a loyal member for 75 years. Using her psychology degree, she worked in a children’s eye clinic helping children with congenital vision problems. When she lost most of her own vision many years later, this work better enabled her to accept calamity. On June 19, 1948, in their mutual hometown Longview Washington, Stella married the love of her life Cyril Yarling Bowers, Jr. a dynamic attractive young doctor in the Navy. After their first child was born in Washington State, the young couple moved to New Orleans, Louisiana where her husband began his job at Tulane Medical School. An important move for the family that led to Cyril’s success in scientific research and medicine. Always mindful of her husband’s career, Stella took care of the growing family with two additional children born in New Orleans, so that Cyril could focus his energy on his important career. Stella traveled with Cyril to his talks and meetings of the Endocrine Society in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington. They went to award ceremonies in London and Paris, also Japan where the couple toured every major city, wined and dined as VIPs. In New Orleans, Stella created many family and colleague events, entertaining with style. She took her only daughter to Paris, where together they studied cooking at Cordon Bleu. Stella was a perfectionist, believing, in not only the best education, but also the best food, for her family and friends. She delighted in all of her children’s efforts in the arts, always supporting their endeavors and encouraging their efforts. With her wondrous sense of humor, a gusto for style and technology, Stella loved to keep up with the latest Apple computers and drive in fast beautiful cars which included Jaguars and Lexus. If you were driving Stella, you could be sure you were never going fast enough. She had grown up driving along the sheer cliffs of the Northwest. The flat swampy town of New Orleans was no challenge for her. Stella remained active up to her final years, going to gym classes twice weekly, participating in TUWA, Tulane University Women’s Association where she made many friends, in addition to, volunteering as the TUWA recording secretary. Stella drove, shopped, cooked, followed beauty regimes, and managed the family home and business, until age 92, when a botched cataract surgery led to vision loss, followed by slow health deterioration. During her last three years, she was cared for by her loving daughter Susan and by the medically minded, Genevieve McKeown. In March, 2020 Stella had a hip replacement surgery for a bad fall. Her recovery for walking went well with rehab successfully accomplished at home. However, she developed a debilitating condition of dysphagia, which led to pneumonia, with a final possible pulmonary embolism ending her life. She passed in her sleep at home, with Susan and Genevieve present, on Tuesday, December 29th, 2020 in the early morning. Stella’s passing follows her beloved husband Cyril’s by three weeks. She will be laid to rest at the Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery next to him. Stella was a wondrous star, always a kind, loving, elegant and gentle being, while being the most cherished and most beloved by her dear husband. She will be greatly missed and is survived by Susan Bowers and Genevieve McKeown, of New Orleans, Louisiana, her eldest son, Cyril Yarling Bowers III, and his wife Kate of Emeryville, California, and her youngest son, Mark Compton Bowers of Abiuii, New Mexico.

The arrangements at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home for Stella will be on Monday, January 11th, 2021, with visitation at 9:30 am, followed by a service at 10:00 am. We welcome all to join us, as we add scriptures, prayers, caring words, flowers, music and singing to the memory of Stella Reid Bowers.

In consideration of the current health restrictions, the event will be streamed live and for 3 days on the Lake Lawn Facebook site at www.lakelawnmetairie.com.