Dash Between: Tom D. and Jean C. Bowen, anything but average

Jean Bowen receives her associate's degree in data processing in 1971 and a kiss from acting president of Lorain County Community College, her husband, Thomas D. Bowen. (Photo provided by the family.)

Tom D. and Jean C. Bowen, community leaders in Elyria, Ohio, were married 67 years and died within three weeks of one another.

During his Dash Between Sept. 4, 1920, when he was born Thomas Duluth Bowen in Duluth, Minn., and May 29, 2011, when he died at age 90, Tom served as the first treasurer of Lorain County Community College, co-founded the Firelands Chapter of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and belonged to the Elyria Rotary, Elyria Kiwanis and Erie Shores Girl Scout Council board.

His wife, who was born Jean Crisp in Elyria on Feb. 18, 1922, and died June 18, 2011, at age 89, spent much of her Dash Between volunteering and holding leadership posts with the Girl Scouts, YWCA, PTA and United Methodist Women. In 1974, she received the title of Beta Sigma Phi First Lady of Elyria for her community service.

Both Tom and Jean served on the administrative board of Elyria's First United Methodist Church, quietly tried to make a difference in their community and raised four children for personal success and community service.

Click here to read the Bowens' "Double Dash Between" that was published July 3, 2011, in the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and here to view their photo gallery.



Jean and Tom D. Bowen, 1995. (Photo courtesy of the family.)