A note from Judy (Bowen) Horky
Victor died Oct. 11, very quick and peacefully. He was very active right up to the end. He still entertained on the piano every week at different nursing homes, and was only frustrated at being "old" and unable to compete in sports as he once had. He would have been 94 on Christmas Day.
We held a Memorial Service in Laconia, N.H. on the 14th and on Friday, the 16th, my brother, Jeff, and I brought his ashes along with our mother's (Sally, died Dec. 24, 1996) to Chebeague where we held an informal gravesite ceremony. They now rest in peace on the island, the place nearest and dearest to his heart. It was a perfect day and the reunion with our family was wonderful.
(From the Portland Press Herald Online)
Victor Henry Bowen
educator, native of Chebeague Island
LACONIA, N.H. - Victor Henry Bowen, 93, died Oct. 11
at the Lakes Region General Hospital. He was the
widower of Sara ''Sally'' Helen Suttill Bowen, who died
in 1996.
He was born on Chebeague Island at Cumberland, Maine,
a son of Henry and Elvira Ross Bowen. He graduated
from Kents Hill School in 1923 and from Bates College in
1927. He received a degree in education from Boston
University in 1935.
For 18 years, Mr. Bowen taught science at the junior
high school in Framingham, Mass., and coached three
major sports. He also was active in theater groups, taking
parts in leading roles and as a soloist in Gilbert and
Sullivan operettas.
In 1945, Mr. Bowen and his wife moved to Laconia,
where he became principal of Laconia Junior High
School. He later was appointed assistant superintendent of
schools in 1959 and superintendent in 1965. He retired in
1970.
Mr. Bowen had been a member of the Laconia
Congregational Church since 1945 and was on its board
of trustees for eight years. He served as an usher and was
an honorary deacon. He was a member of the Masonic
Lodge and served as pianist for the Laconia Kiwanis Club
for 25 years.
After his retirement, he served on the board of the
Laconia Public Library for 25 years, serving seven as
chairman. He was an active member of the Gilford Hills
Tennis Club, serving as captain of his team for several
years.
Mr. Bowen maintained close ties with his family on
Chebeague Island and until recently, summered on
Cousins Island at Yarmouth, Maine.
At age 80, he learned to fly and made numerous solo
flights. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and bowling. He was
an accomplished pianist, his family said, providing
entertainment for local nursing and retirement homes.