Carole Jeanne Bowman, 92, of Frontenac, Kansas, lost her battle to cancer on January 14, 2024.
She was born in Frontenac, Kansas, in 1931 to Florence Gay and John Adrian Didier, the fifth of six children.
Carole attended Frontenac High School, and went on to receive a bachelor of science in education at the Kansas State Teacher's College (now Pittsburg State University,) in 1953. She completed a master's degree at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, before entering a life of teaching speech, English, and theater arts throughout her life in Hamilton, Kansas; New York City; Hackensack, New Jersey; Waltham, Massachusetts; and Raytown, Missouri. In addition to teaching, she also directed plays and musicals and coached debate teams.
Besides her career in teaching, Carole was also interested in acting and directing. After her first job teaching in Hamilton, she went to the Pasadena Playhouse in California to study. Once she completed theater training, she acted in summer stock at the Priscilla Beach Summer Theater in Massachusetts, then settled in New York City to pursue her dream of a theatrical career. In New York City, Carole sang in six Gilbert and Sullivan roles, and acted in and directed four plays at the Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village. During this time, Carole and her Frontenac classmate and friend Gus Dean (G.D.) Dittman sang together at the Playhouse and on the cruise ship 'Queen of Bermuda,' traveling to Bermuda, Nassau and other locations.
During her stay in New York City, Carole met and married television and commercial copywriter Bruce Bowman. The couple had one son, Jim Bowman, who himself pursued a career in teaching speech and communication at the university level. After retiring from teaching in the late 1990's, Carole and Bruce moved to Frontenac. There, Carole was active at the Frontenac United Methodist Church, acting at times as president of the church's women's organization, and on the board of the Frontenac Cemetery, the Pittsburg Public Library, and a member of the Treble Clef Club. She loved to sing in community events, play cards, and travel.
Carole was preceded in death by her husband Bruce in 2009, both of her parents, and all five of her siblings - most recently, her oldest sister Carmen, in 2022, and her younger brother Jimmy in 2014. She is survived by her son, Jim, her sister-in-law Carolyn Didier, and the Didier family including Carla, John and Brandon and their families, as well as the Davis family, which includes Mark, Babette, Mary Ellen and Vicki and their families. She is also survived by cousins Bert and Linda VanLuyck and their daughter DeeAnn.
Carole's motto in life was 'Be Cheerful'. She brought a smile to everyone she met, be they relative, friend or complete stranger, and adored hearing and telling stories. She loved watching football and basketball games, always supporting her beloved KU basketball and Kansas City Chiefs teams with hoots and hollers. She'd become quite an avid pinochle and canasta player in her later years and enjoyed the company of her card playing friends.
As poet and author Linda Ellis said in "The Dash" - "...first came the date of birth, and the following date (comes) with tears, but ... what mattered most of all was the dash between those years." Carole Bowman's 'dash' was incredibly full and vibrant. She will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved her. Donations may be made to Gentiva Hospice of Pittsburg, Kansas in her memory; these may be left at the funeral home or service.
A celebration of her life will be held at the Frontenac United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 20, at 11 a.m. Family will receive friends at the church from, 10a.m. until service time. Burial will follow the services at the Frontenac City Cemetery. Condolences may be left at www.friskelfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are under the direction of the Friskel Funeral Home Frontenac, KS.
