Share Service Information for Barbara E. (Wolf) Bowers

Obituary

Barbara E. (Wolf) Bowers, age 89, of Dublin, OH, passed away peacefully April 26, 2014 at the Kobacker House for Hospice Care. She was born in Columbus in January 1925 to Ferdinand and Irene Wolf. Barbara is survived by her loving husband, John F. Bowers, Jr., four children, six grandchildren, and her brother Ted, father of 12 children. Barbara and John raised five beautiful children: Michael, of Columbus, who with his wife Becky has twin boys, Mark and Jeff; Moira (Mrs. Fahy) of Washington, PA who with her husband William, has two children, Chelsea and Michael; John F. (“Buck”) Bowers III (who preceded her in death); Peter, of Deerfield Beach, FL; and Joseph, of Boulder, CO, who with his wife Jaana, has two daughters, Riley and Leah. Barbara was also preceded in death by her sister-in-law, Marie Wolf, and a niece and nephew. Barbara lived mostly in the Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington areas. After graduating high school from Our Lady of Victory in Marble Cliff, she continued her studies at The Ohio State University (Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association), earning a Business degree. By then, the U.S. was fully involved in WWII, and with men of fighting age serving the war effort, those with math and science skills were in short supply. The armed forces and military contractors turned to women to fill critical civilian positions. Under a program jointly sponsored by the Dept. of the Navy and Curtiss-Wright, a local plane manufacturer, Barbara was among a select group of women recruited for an accelerated aeronautical engineering degree program, known as the “Curtiss-Wright Cadettes.” A pilot herself, she went on to work for the company during the war, focusing on the Navy’s SB2C Helldiver Bomber. When the men returned home from the war, Barbara moved right on to her next challenge, and enrolled in nursing school at Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. A devout Catholic all her life, she developed a lifelong friendship with the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Returning to Ohio, she taught nursing at Children's Hospital in Columbus. She met, and on April 14, 1956, she married John. Together they shared more than 58 wonderful years, raising their children in Upper Arlington, enjoying their grandchildren, and spending their winters in South Florida. Parishioners at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church (where all five of their children attended grade school), The Bishop's Miter Club and also were members of Brookside Country Club, and later, The Country Club of Boca Raton, where they enjoyed playing golf - a lot of golf! Family will receive friends on Friday, May 2, 2014 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the JOHN QUINT TREBONI FUNERAL HOME, 1177 W. Fifth Avenue, Columbus. A prayer service will be held Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Mothers of Sorrow Chapel (within the grounds of St. Joseph Cemetery), 6440 S. High St., Lockbourne, with entombment to follow. The procession will depart from the funeral home at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mid-Ohio Foodbank www.midohiofoodbank.org, 3960 Brookham Rd, Grove City (43123). Condolences may be sent via www.johnquint.com.