Lea Dale Bowman was born at The Hotel Dieu Hospital in El Paso, TX, on January 8, 1946. She was raised in El Paso on Monroe and Gairloch Streets in East El Paso. She graduated from Bel Air High School in 1964 and attended Texas Western College, (UTEP), for 2 years. She married Douglas S. Franklin on June 4, 1966. In 1972, she moved with her husband and oldest son, to Bangkok, Thailand. Her husband, Douglas, worked for the US Foreign Service in the US Department of State. Lea lived overseas for the next 20+ years. She lived on four different continents in countries including Thailand, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Egypt and Russia. Through the years, she worked part-time and full-time at the US Embassies in these countries for various agencies, and managed a household, with two sons, under very difficult and challenging circumstances. Her husband retired from the US Government in 1996. They returned to El Paso in 1998. Lea passed on August 10, at Del Sol Medical Center. She is survived by her husband, two sons, David and Kel, and her brother, Patrick A. Bowman. Graveside Service will be Thursday, August 15, 2019 at 1 p.m. at Fort Bliss National Cemetery.
