Barbara Ann Rudy Bowman

The staff at Heishman Funeral Home Inc. sends condolences to the family of Barbara Ann Rudy Bowman. Barbara Ann Rudy Bowman left for her Heavenly Home on April 24, 2024, where she would join her husband, Dick Delford Bowman (who entered there June 14, 2018) and a daughter, Glenna Sue Bowman MacKenzie (January 17, 2023). Born at Bowman’s Crossing, Shenandoah County, VA, November 21, 1929, she was the daughter of Beulah Lee Hockman Rudy and Raymond Alexander Rudy. Barbara was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Mark Winter Rudy and Raymond Alexander Rudy, Jr. Surviving her are her beloved family members, cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and many good friends. Early school days were very happy days. Barbara never had to walk to school. She rode one of the so-called “buses” being used at that time in the county. It was actually a truck, cleaned and made as comfortable as possible for the students to ride in. They were taken from Bowman’s Crossing to the grade school in Edinburg. Barbara was a graduate of Edinburg High School, 1946, and Shenandoah Business College, Woodstock, VA, 1947. After she graduated, she was employed as a secretary at Winchester Memorial Hospital. Later, she worked at the Northern Virginia Power Company, Winchester, as a secretary and switchboard operator. In April 1949, Barbara married Dick Delford Bowman of Edinburg. They welcomed three children in the 69 years of a happy marriage that followed. The children are Sharon Rebecca Campbell and husband, Walter; Glenna Sue MacKenzie and husband, Earle; and Philip Lee Bowman and wife Rebecca. The three siblings attended school in Mt. Jackson and later, having selected colleges, left their farm home to begin the next chapters of their lives. Interestingly, these children circled back years later to live along South Middle with their own children. In their early marriage, the couple bought the Frank Marshall farm west of Mt. Jackson, off of the Orkney Grade, and lived and farmed there for sixteen years. In March 1972, Dick and Barbara bought the Bowman ancestral farm on South Middle Rd and moved there in 1974. The farm has been designated as a Virginia Century Farm, farmed and owned by the Bowman family since 1850. The grand children Barbara and Dick loved and enjoyed are Heather Marie MacKenzie and husband Mark Higgins; Alex MacKenzie and wife Nicole; Jason Bowman and wife Harrigan; Aaron Bowman and Tess; and Jacob Bowman and wife Jessica. Ten beautiful great-grand children born into the family are Charlotte and James; Madison and Cory; Savarin and Sorrell; Conley, Alden, and Grayson; and Rogue Evangeline. Barbara was an active member of Otterbein Chapel United Methodist Church, where she taught Bible school, Sunday school, and was the secretary of the women’s organizations for many years. She and her husband Dick helped the local historian, Daniel Warrick Burruss II, research and write The History of Otterbein Chapel. Barbara was very interested in Valley history, antiques, genealogy, and farm life. Barbara loved poetry and wrote many poems, one to be used at her service. Her fondness for the mountains which faced her farm inspired this poem, and it was published in the Mountain Courier two years ago. A memorial service will be held Saturday May 11, 2024, at 2:00pm in the chapel of Valley Funeral Home, Valley Funeral Service, 14116 South Middle Rd, Edinburg, VA 22824 with Pastor Lisa Coffelt and Rev. Darlene Wilkins officiating. Memorial contributions can be made to the charity of your choice or to the Shenandoah Community Foundation, a non-profit organization awarding scholarships to students in Shenandoah County and supporting local charities there. The address is Shenandoah Community Foundation, P.O. Box 350, Strasburg, VA 22657. Arrangements are in the care of Tina and Stephen Heishman of Heishman Funeral Home, Inc., Valley Funeral Branch, 14116 S. Middle Rd., Edinburg, VA 22824. Burial will be private at Christ United Church of Christ Cemetery, Conicville, VA. Many thanks go to Shenandoah Memorial, The Warren staff, Blue Ridge Hospice, and Tina and Stephen Heishman of Heishman Funeral Home, Inc. Online condolences may be left at www.valleyfs.com This obituary was written by Barbara R. Bowman on January 22, 2020.

Barbara Ann Rudy Bowman

November 21, 1929 - April 24, 2024