Jeanne Bowers

It is with great sadness that the family of Jeanne Bowers must announce her passing. She died unexpectedly, yet peacefully in her sleep February 22, 2018 at her home in Coronado. Jeanne would have been 85 in May. She was born Marjorie Eugenia Curcio in 1933 at March Field, Riverside, CA to Marjorie Emma Wells Curcio of Coronado and Anthony Eugene Curcio of Brooklyn, NY, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Orphaned at the age of 3, Jeanne was raised in Coronado by her maternal grandmother, Clara Wells Rossy York in a little bungalow on Tolita Avenue. While attending Coronado High School, Jeanne was a majorette, cheerleader, and active participant in many clubs and plays. In 1952 she was elected Honored Queen of the International Order of Job’s Daughters.

Upon graduating high school in 1951, Jeanne traveled by bus every day to San Diego State where she majored in Speech Arts and studied under Don Powell, a legend among the San Diego state theater community for whom a theater is named. She graduated with a Bachelors of Art degree in 1955.

Jeanne met Navy pilot, Henry Harrison Bowers at the Mexican Village in Coronado and they eloped in January 1955. Jeanne took on the role of a naval officers wife with love and pride, always making every new tour of duty feel like home for her family. This was the start of her 20-year role as an officer’s wife and mother of four children, Margie, Jim, Holly, and Barbara, traveling from coast to coast. No matter where she lived, Jeanne found a way to become a part of the community and to make many life-long friends. She was an accomplished seamstress, a talented painter, and an adventuresome cook often inspired by the various locales she lived.

When her marriage ended in 1976, Jeanne returned to Coronado and to her childhood home on Tolita Avenue with her two youngest daughters, restoring the house from top to bottom. She worked for a time at Lee Mather Realty until she branched out on her own and opened Travel Agents International on Convoy Street in San Diego in 1980. In 1985 she was able to open a second location in Coronado, fulfilling a longtime dream of being a business owner in her hometown. As a travel agent, Jeanne travelled the world many times over and became an expert in cruise travel.

Since her retirement, Jeanne became even busier as a volunteer and active member of the Coronado Community Church, Coronado Crown Garden Club, The Coronado Historical Society, and the Armchair Travelers. She was an enthusiastic supporter of the Lamb’s Theater and enjoyed her many friends playing Bridge, Mah Jong and reading books with her book club. She was an avid Padres baseball fan and never missed a game.

Jeanne is survived by her four children, Marjorie Martinelli of New York City; James Bowers of Ypsilanti, Michigan; Holly (Greg) McPartlin of Coronado; and Barbara (Mark) Knapp of Santa Cruz, California, 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and her many, many friends. Coronado has lost one of its most beloved residents.

The family will be accepting visitors at Jeanne’s home on Friday, March 2nd from 3 pm to 8 pm at 920 F Avenue, Apt. B, in Coronado to share condolences and memories. These can also be shared at www.humphreymortuary.com.