John Hayes Bowden

It is with profound sadness the family of John Hayes Bowden, 83 announce his passing. John passed away at his home at Shacklefords Virginia on April 14, 2026. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Woodrow Bowden and Mabel Louise (Burns) Bowden; his wife of 45 years, Nellie Malinda Bowden; his daughters, Lori Kay Blotzer and Kimberly Ann St. Pierre and his sisters, Teresa May Bowden Savage and Patsy Faye Driscoll.

John was born on April 4, 1943, in a home his father Woodrow built in a holler, on ancestral land to a family known locally as the Mann Clan, of Scots-Irish, English and German ancestry, at Wolf Creek in Monroe County, West Virginia. John’s parents soon moved the family to Williamsburg when he was 3 years of age, but he returned to spend each summer with family in his native Monroe County. He attended Matthew Whaley and James Blair and after school John worked with local tradesmen, plumbers and electricians as well as for Branscome Construction, gaining various skills that would serve him well in helping family and friends through the years. Sometime in 1961, a young lady from the neighboring Greenbriar County, West Virginia, the same age as John but still not yet out of high school, saw John at a social gathering and told a friend “Im gonna marry that man”. They were married October 6, 1962, settled in Williamsburg and began a family. Two daughters came, then two sons and by early 1970’s Johnny, as his wife always called him, found work as an electrician for the College of William and Mary, from where he retired in 2003. Sadly after 45 years of faithful and unconditional love, Malinda soon passed away in September 2007.

Those who know John and Malinda would often say “they were always together” or “if you saw one you saw the other”. Family and friends will recall how they enjoyed their time spent tending to their small gardens, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Annual family trips to West Virginia to keep family bonds strong. John enjoyed telling tales of childhood summers spent on the Morlunda Farm with his grandfather riding in a surplus WW2 jeep or walking the backroads of Greenbriar and Monroe counties with his cousin Dale Lemons and others, always enroute somewhere between the Mann Clan Holler, another family members farm, a country store and another fishing hole.

Now and for eternity, Johnny is back by the side of his beloved and admiring wife, Malinda. They are surrounded by the family members they cherished, who have gone on before.

To cherish his memory, Johnny is survived by his sons, John Michael Bowden and Derek Shane Bowden and his wife Amanda, as well as 14 grandchildren; Ryan Bowden, Erica Porter, Taylor Blotzer, Madison Blotzer, Kelsey Alexander, Joseph St. Pierre, Jeremy St. Pierre, Brooklyn Meeks, Sadie Bowden, Marshall Bowden, Michael Bachmann, Zachary Bowden, Garrett Bowden, and Keith Denyes; and 15 great-grandchildren; Knox, Greyson, Easton, Ryland, Brody, Tulsa, Bowie, Colton, Alyssa, Jesse, Ethan, Darla, Michael, Luke, and Lane.

A service, in his remembrance will be held at James River Baptist Church, 4931 Centerville Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188 on Saturday, May 2nd at 11:00 AM.