Bowden, Adele Ethel Gerstenberger (1942-2023)

BOWDEN, GERSTENBERGER, MORGAN, HEATER, FISHBAUGH

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 7/27/2023 at 08:06:35

Daily Freeman Journal
Webster City, Iowa
April 30, 2023

Adele Bowden, 80, of Webster City, passed away on April 22, 2023, at Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in Fort Dodge. She and her steadfast caretaker and husband, Dean, would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary just five days later on April 27th.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Asbury United Methodist Church in Webster City. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, 2023 at Foster Funeral and Cremation Center.

Adele Ethel Gerstenberger, daughter of Kyle and Mona (Morgan), was born on June 19, 1942, in Independence, Iowa. She graduated from Aurora High School at the age of 16 and from Iowa State University in 1962 with a degree in Child Development. Adele was united in marriage to Dean Bowden of Winthrop, IA, on April 27, 1963, at the Aurora United Methodist Church. They first met in Buchanan County 4-H, then dated at Iowa State and while Dean served with the Army in Korea.

After their marriage, they moved to Ft. Riley, KS and then Denison, where Jeffrey Allen and Janna Marie were born in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, Adele started and directed a Community Preschool at the church where they were members and she was the organist.

After the family moved to Webster City in 1976, Adele continued her work in 4-H, and began playing the organ and directing the Asbury Bell Ringers, was President of the Friends of the Kendall Young Library, and belonged to PEO, Chapter EL. She enjoyed Travel Club, trips to Europe and especially Paris with friends, her “Flamingo Group” weekends, coffee group, bridge, and golf. She was an avid genealogist, talented calligrapher, and loved to read and walk. Dean and Adele relished spending the winter months in Fountain Hills, AZ. For many years, they also enjoyed attending Iowa State football and basketball games.

“Grandma Adele” had 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. She was always the first to arrive for the birth and willing to travel and stay when needed. She planned family trips to Florida and Wyoming, “Cousin Day” at Adventureland, and memorable holidays. Christmas was made special with her “Vintage Gifts” and Christmas Bingo. With her grandkids she fished at the cabin, golfed, taught piano, and supported them in all their school activities.

Adele chaired the fundraising effort to bring YSS (Youth and Shelter Services) to Hamilton County and taught Young Parenting classes for many years. In 2015, the Adele and Dean Bowden YSS Center was built in Webster City. Her memory will also live on through the YSS Ember Recovery Campus in Cambridge, IA, and the Iowa 4-H Foundation.

Adele is survived by her husband, Dean, and two children, Jeff (Stefany) of Prescott, AZ, and Janna (Darren) Heater of Indianola, and brother Duane (Mary) Gerstenberger of Seattle, WA. Grandchildren: Nick (Lauren) Bowden, Elizabeth (Cory) Fishbaugh, Riley and Connor Bowden, Zach (Natalie) Heater, and Adam Heater and 6 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Aaron Gerstenberger of Douglasville, GA, and brother, Lowell Arthur, at birth.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to YSS Hamilton County or the Kendall Young Library Foundation.