Betty Meredith Bowser (born Seelye)
Personal
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: April 12, 1916
Date of Death: February 23, 2016
Birth Place: Chino, CA
Death Place: Riverside, CA
Betty (Seelye) Bowser
1916 – 2016
BETTY MEREDITH (SEELYE) BOWSER passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, seven weeks before her 100th birthday. A second generation Californian, Betty was born in Chino, California on April 12, 1916. Betty married Jacob Ewing Bowser on Thanksgiving Day, 1940, at her parent’s home in Corona, California. She is survived by their sons Earl Ross (Wendy), of Markham, Ontario, Canada, Jacob Ewing , Jr. (Kathy) of Warrenton, Oregon, and David Everett (Marisa Brown), of Oceanside, California, eleven grandchildren and twenty-one surviving great grandchildren. Betty was preceded in death by her parents Andrew Ross Seelye and Lois Fern (Herring) Seelye, by her husband of over 67 years, Jacob E. Bowser, by her sister Anita (Seelye) Miller, and by great-grandchildren Hayden Schmitz, Sadie Bowser, and Leah and Jay Pineau. Betty graduated from Corona High School, Riverside Junior College and the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in Art and Spanish. At Cal she lived at International House and, during her post graduate year earning her teaching credential, was inducted as ‘Betina’ into Casa Hispana. Following their marriage, Betty and Jake lived in Corona, where she taught Art and Spanish at Corona Junior High. From 1942-1945 they lived in Trona, California where Jake was a munitions chemist. After WWII they made their home in Riverside, where Jake, with Betty’s assistance, opened Riverside’s first prescription pharmacy, Bowser & Banks, followed by Medical Arts and Community Professional. Betty’s greatest love was their extended family, with whom she shared her interest in history and current events. Always active, she also enjoyed deep sea fishing, USC (and Cal) football games, and travels to Europe, Canada, Mexico and Central America. For over thirty years, she enjoyed their weekend retreat at Villa del Mar in Ensenada, Mexico. Betty and Jake drove the old roads to La Paz, Southern Mexico and Guatemala and traveled by bus with the Ensenada Lions Club. She maintained a lifelong fluency in Spanish, taught English to families of foreign students at UCR, was active with Riverside’s International Relations Council and hosted visitors to Riverside from Europe, South America and the Far East. The family wishes to thank her physician, Dr. Joel Doughton, MD, and commends her caregivers, Kathleen Parra and assistants Veronica, Donna, Kelly, Cody and Debbie, for their professional, thoughtful and loving care of Betty, allowing her to live independently in her home of nearly 70 years. Public Visitation will be held 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 21st at Acheson Graham Garden of Prayer Chapel in Riverside to be followed by a 12:30 p.m. graveside service at Olivewood Memorial Park, Riverside.
Published in Press-Enterprise from March 18 to March 20, 2016
[Great-great-granddaughter of SGS # 2486 – Betty Meredith; Andrew Ross; Orlando L.; William Daniel; Schubel/Shuble (# 2486); Justus (# 914); David; Justus; John; Benjamin; Nathaniel; Robert]
