Nancy’s Obituary Nancy Jane Bowser,86, of Scarborough, Maine passed away peacefully, with her loving family by her side, on May 10, 2019 at Maine Medical Center in Portland. She was a private person who was beloved and deeply appreciated by her family for her strength, compassion, determination, strong sense of values, and, above all, steadfast dedication and profound love for her husband and family. She married Neil R. Bowser in 1957, and together they raised five children and two grandchildren and built a successful construction business, N.R. Bowser & Son, Inc. Neil died on February 25, 2019, and they will be buried together.
Born in Portland, Maine on April 29, 1933, Nancy grew up during the Great Depression, the youngest daughter of a single mother who had been an orphan. Her mother worked hard to feed her children and keep them together. This gave Nancy resilience, fortitude, commitment to hard work, loyalty to family, and deep empathy for the people she loved and people she barely knew, especially children who needed homes.
She was hilarious, especially when her sister Jackie visited. She loved Big Band and Swing music, dancing with Neil throughout their lives together, winning Yahtzee and Scrabble games, feeding birds and chipmunks in her yard, and daily conversations and meals with her family at the kitchen table. She is remembered for always being there, and for all the times she listened.
She cultivated beauty in her home and gardens. She handled the finances and management of the family business, producing order from chaos, surrounded by work crews, accounting books, receipts, children with busy lives, stacks of washing and ironing, food to be put on the table, and, over time, generations of grandchildren, and all of their friends and pets. Her home was the family hub on a daily basis, and the place for family gatherings on holidays and birthdays, for over 60 years.
She was a woman of competence, intelligence, beauty, and graciousness. Nancy was predeceased by her husband, Neil; her parents, Mary (Hawes) Carroll and John R. Carroll; her sister, Mary Jacqueline (Carroll) Bailey; her brothers, John Raymond Carroll, Jr., and Richard H. Carroll; and her daughter, Linda J. Bowser. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Diane L. and Gregory R. Dow of Rye, NH, Donna M. Lotti of Saco, and Brenda J. Bowser and John Q. Patton of La Habra Heights, CA; her son, Joseph R. Bowser of Scarborough; 9 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.
The wake is scheduled for Sunday, May 19, from 3-5 pm at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd. , South Portland. Funeral services will be held at 11 am, Monday, May 20th at the First Congregational Church, 301 Cottage Road, South Portland.
Burial services will be held at Scarborough Memorial Cemetery immediately following the church service. After the graveside service, please join in a celebration of Nancy’s life at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Portland, 363 Maine Mall Rd, South Portland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Nancy’s name to the Palliative Care Program, Attn: Development, Maine Medical Center, 22 Bramhall St., Portland, Maine 04102.
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