Mabel Elizabeth (Nelson) Bowden

Mabel Elizabeth Nelson Bowden, 99, of Strawberry Point, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at the Great River Care Center in McGregor, Iowa.  She was born on July 6, 1917, near Independence, the youngest of six children, to Lewis and Sophia (Hansen) Nelson.  Mabel’s mother passed away when she was ten years of age and her father when she fifteen.  After which she resided primarily with her brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Hazel Nelson, until she attended high school in Independence.  She then lived with an elderly lady, Margaret Carmody.  Upon graduation in 1935, she attended Iowa State Teachers’ College (UNI) for three months and obtained a teaching certificate.  She taught for five years in two rural schools near Lamont. 

On June 23, 1940, Mabel was united in marriage to Tudor Bowden at the Grace Methodist Church in Lamont.  During the war years they resided in Baltimore, Maryland, and later Omaha, Nebraska, where Tudor was employed by the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plants.  After the war, they resided in Strawberry Point until 1955, when they moved to Lamont where Tudor operated the Phillip 66 Service Station and Mabel was employed as a substitute teacher until her certificate expired.  She was then employed as a teacher’s aide for ten years.  Upon retirement, she and Tudor moved to Strawberry Point in 1981.

Mabel was a member of the United Methodist Church and U.M.W.  She was also a 61-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star of which she was a Past Worthy Matron, and a Past Grand Representative for Iowa.  She was a member of the Red Hat Charmers and a past member of the Fortnightly Club.  Mabel enjoyed playing cards, working crossword puzzles, and bowling.  She also enjoyed fishing trips to northern Minnesota with her family.

Mabel is survived by two sons, Dr. Gary (Pat) Bowden of McGregor and Kent (Lisa) Bowden of Cedar Rapids; two granddaughters, Dana (Mike) Lange of Lino Lakes, Minnesota, and Kayne (David) Day of Cedar Rapids; one grandson, Cory (Amy) Bowden of Waukon; three great-granddaughters, Ellie and Nicole Lange and Brynn Bowden; one great-grandson, Braylen Bowden; and a sister-in-law, Frankie Bowden of Independence.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Tudor; two brothers, Leo and Ted Nelson; and three sisters, Mary Stromgren, Ann Dewees, and Eva Lucas.

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