Daniel Bowden, Jr.

Daniel Bowden Jr. Our Daddy died at 11:55 p.m. May 9th, 2013 at Baptist Hospital with Mama kissing him while the angels took him to heaven. We lost the most wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend anyone could ever know. Daddy was born in the Bethel Grove area in Memphis on August 30th, 1926. When he was 11 years old, he accepted Christ as his Savior at the old Yale Baptist Church and all of his life he had Blessed Assurance of his Salvation. The church later moved over to Lamar Avenue and was renamed Lamar Heights Baptist Church. In his early teens he went to work at the old Rainbow Skating Rink and Swimming Pool. In the winter he worked in the skating rink and in the summer at the pool. Those were fun times in his teenage years. He left Rainbow for a job at the OPA (Office of Price Administration). He was drafted into the Army from there and went to Camp Gordon, Georgia for basic training. His outfit was specifically trained for the invasion of Japan. He was home on furlough when the first atomic bomb was dropped. He still went to Japan on a Liberty Ship where he served in the Army of Occupation under General Douglas McArthur for a year. He was honorably discharged and returned home in October of 1946. He started skating again and one night he asked Jean Meredith to skate couples with him. They had not known each other before he went into the army. They were married on March 28, 1948 and had three children: Daniel Robert, a dentist, Rebecca Jean Jones (Wayne) a mother, teacher, dancer and skater, and John Meredith (Denise), a mechanical engineer. They also have ten grandchildren. All of our lives they were an example of what a marriage should be. We are so blessed to have had him as our daddy. Daddy also served in the Korean War. Shortly after he was married, he joined the Tennessee Air Nation Guard and when the Korean War broke out he was called to active duty. He served for 15 months mainly at Shaw Air force Base in South Carolina. His story would not be complete without mentioning Temple-Inland Forrest products in West Memphis where he spent most of his working life as plant engineer. He was grateful for a job he loved to do and work with people that he loved. He was a long time member and deacon of Germantown Baptist Church, but he was originally ordained a deacon at Charjean Baptist Church where he was also choir director. Our family has always held a special spot in our hearts for Charjean Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lillie Mai Carter and Daniel Bowden Sr. and his beloved brother, Lamar. The family will receive friends beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 18th 2013 with the service to follow at 2 p.m. at Brantley Funeral Home in Olive Branch, MS. The interment will take place immediately after the funeral in Mt. Zion cemetery in Independence MS. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations are to be sent to the Hallelujah Choir at Germantown Baptist Church. Brantley Funeral Home Olive Branch 662-895-2310 www.BrantleyFuneral.com