Ila Belle (Davis) Bowles, 84, a resident of Evansville Manor, Evansville, Wisc., died peacefully Tuesday morning, June 7, 2005, at Evansville Manor Inc.
She was born on Jan. 27, 1921, at Girdner, Mo., near Ava, to George Felda and Stella (Parnell) Davis. She was married to Robert Eugene Bowles on June 30, 1939, in Ava. He preceded her in death on July 9, 1998.
Before moving to Salinas, Calif., in 1985, Ila Belle served many years as secretary to the Ava superintendent of schools and her husband, Robert, served as managing editor of the Douglas County Herald. The Bowles retired in 1981 and moved back to Springfield, Mo.
In 1998, they moved to Janesville, Wisc., to be nearer their son and his wife during Robert’s brief illness. In spite of Ila’s many years of illness, her mind remained clear and her inner strength was an inspiration to all those who knew her.
She was survived by a son, Jerry, and his wife, Gay (Grenlund) Bowles, of Janesville, Wisc.; several nieces and nephews, including Joanne (Stewart) Green, of Lebanon, Mo., and Chester Upshaw, of Mtn. Home, Ark.
Besides her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by a brother, Herbert, in infancy; two sisters, Mrs. Naida (Davis) Childress, of Springfield, and Mrs. Veda (Davis) Upshaw, of Mtn. Home, Ark.
A graveside memorial service will be conducted on Thursday, June 9, at 11:30 a.m. in the Ava Cemetery under the direction of the Clinkingbeard Funeral Home in Ava, with the Rev. Harvel Sanders, a lifetime friend, officiating. The Schneider Apfel Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home of Janesville, Wisc., handled local arrangements in Wisconsin.
