Marie Bowling

Marie Bowling, 91, of Altus, passed away among family at Southwestern Medical Center in Lawton on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Graveside services will be 10:30 AM Saturday at the Highland Cemetery, Lawton, where she will again lie by the side of her beloved Joe, with Rev. Madison Clinton officiating. Burial is under the direction of the Kincannon Funeral Home. Marie was born on July 4, 1920 in Durant, OK to Frankie and Floyd Spradlin. She and her mother moved to Altus in 1927, where she graduated high school in 1938 and then attended Altus Junior College. In 1942, she joined the group of WWII “Government Girls” in Washington D.C. She was a federal employee with the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, both stateside and overseas, for 22 years. While in Seoul, Korea, she met Joseph G. Bowling and they were married on February 9, 1949 in Louisville, KY, later moving back to Oklahoma where both were employed at Fort Sill. Later, they operated the Datsun (now Nissan) dealership in Lawton until Joe’s health forced sale of the dealership in 1975. They resided in Biloxi, MS for 3 years before moving back to Altus in 1978. In 1979, Marie became the first secretary for the newly formed Troop M of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol before transferring to Troop G in Lawton in 1983. She retired in 1992 after a total of 14 years with the Highway Patrol and then moved back to Altus. Marie is survived by her sister, Mary Jane Hamende; a niece, Rebecca Simpson, and nephews, Todd Simpson and Ernest Simpson, all of Altus. She is also survived by her great nieces, Devon Cheek and Loran Mayes of Altus, and Brandi McKenzie of Denver, CO; great nephews, Shon Romines of Denver, CO, and Trey Latham of Columbus, OH. She was preceded in death by her mother, Frankie Simpson, stepfather, William T. Simpson, her husband, Joe, her brother and sister-in-law, Dan and Marie Simpson, and her niece, Danette Romines. The family will receive visitors from 6:30 to 8:00 Friday at Kincannon Funeral Home in Altus. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.