Alice May Bowersox

Alice May Bowersox passed away peacefully at her home in Lakeview, Oregon on April 5, 2022.

She was born to Alton and Hilda (Newman) Miller on October 19, 1927, in Ellensburg, Washington.  Alice grew up and went through school in Ellensburg, WA where she graduated from high school, and while in her late teens she met Howard Bowersox while he was on leave from the Navy.  Howard was from Pennsylvania but when he met Alice, he knew she was the one for him. His Dad tried to get him interested in local girls, but he courted Alice by driving clear across the United States on a regular basis and they married a short time later in 1946. They were married for 49 years until his passing.

They lived and raised their family in various places in Northern California. Alice attended college and got her bachelor’s degree.  Alice enjoyed being a pastor’s wife and she taught Sunday school and played piano for the church. She was a woman of great wisdom and compassion always willing to give Godly advice. She loved the Lord and was kind to everyone she met. Alice started working for US Bank in Redding, CA and in 1979 when they moved to Lakeview she continued with the band until her retirement in 1990. She enjoyed people and her job so much that she went back to the bank part-time for several years until retiring again.  Alice wasn’t one to slow down, so she went to work at the senior center with the energy assistance program helping people get their power bills paid.  She had a servant’s heart and was a nurturing soul.  Before raising her children, she had foster children, and then in 1979 when her daughter was murdered, she took on her three grandchildren who were ages 6,4, and 1 at the time to raise. Family was important to Alice.

Alice had lots of talents, she loved music, playing the piano and singing were some of her very favorite pastimes.  She played at the church until December of 2021. She used to play weekly at the nursing home for over 10 years, and wedding and funeral on request. She could read music but also play by ear many times only after hearing a song sung once, she taught piano and loved to share her love of music with others. She was a member of the Sage Brush Echoes for over 35 years. Alice was an excellent cook and baker she was known for her famous "Bowersox Buns."  She made homemade bread every week for many years for her family. Alice enjoyed many crafts, including crocheting, and was an excellent seamstress sewing clothes for her family and dolls, she made sock dolls and enjoyed cross-stitch. She also enjoyed china painting, and ceramics and made beautiful porcelain dolls. Gardening and her flower beds were something she was proud of; she had a real green thumb! But above all that what she really loved was the Lord! She took classes to teach and translate the bible into other languages. She wanted to educate people about the gospel even if she had to learn a different language. Every morning she had her cup of coffee and time with the Lord.  She pastored the Open Bible Church from 2016 until it changed hands in March of 2022. She gave selflessly to the church and its missions. Alice was a woman of God who never wavered in her belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and her Savior.

Alice is preceded by; her parents, 2 brothers, 1 sister, her husband Howard, and her daughter Wanda Jean.

She is survived by; her son Alton (Deborah) Bowersox, daughter Nancy Underhill, Six grandchildren Rebbecca (Darek) Bray, Timothy (Amy) Atkinson, Dennis Atkinson, Ryan Underhill, Jessica (Jordan) Underhill-Shiveley, and Sarah Bowersox. 10 great-grandchildren William Underhill, Rachael (Cody) Vause-Burns, Mary Alice Atkinson and her fiance Donovan Krager, Matthew McCaffery, Courtney Atkinson, Caiden Atkinson, Cameron Atkinson, Zaide Atkinson, Zakkery Atkinson, Caleb Atkinson. 7 Great great-grandchildren, Zorina Atkinson, Evangeline Olmstead, Thaylan Giroux, Azura Atkinson, Roy Burns, and two bonus Zinnia and Christopher Krager.

We all love her very much, and she will be greatly missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held for Alice on Monday, April 18, 2022, at 11:00 AM at the Foursquare Community Church (formerly known as the Open Bible Church) at 264 N P Street in Lakeview, OR. There will be a potluck lunch at the fellowship hall following the interment in the sunset park cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made in Alice’s memory to Gideon’s International, PO Box 5137, Klamath Falls, OR 97601, or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

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