Don was born on April 15, 1934 to G. Donald and Edna Bowman in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He was the oldest of 3. He and his family relocated to Michigan in 1951, and he attended high school at Mumford, where he met his future wife, Barbara. Don and Barb married in 1956 and started their life together in Detroit, where they welcomed 3 children: Teri, Donald, and Pamela. He worked as a die maker at a local tool and die shop. His hobbies included coaching the "Orfuns" baseball team, and showing dogs with Barb. He was especially proud of his champion chow chow, Jai Jai.
Don was a long-time member of the Royal Oak Salvation Army where he attended church and volunteered. He ran their homeless shelter for over 20 years, up until 2017. He was very giving, kind-hearted and always willing to lend a helping hand.
Family was very important to him, and he often talked about how wonderful of a family he had. He was a proud great-grandpa and loved bringing his great grandkids Hot Wheels whenever he'd see them. He loved sports and was an avid Detroit Tigers and Montreal Canadiens fan. Don was well loved by his family and community and will be missed greatly.
Don was preceded in death by his parents, G. Donald and Edna Bowman.
He was survived by his wife of 67 years, Barbara as well as their children, Teri (Billy) Palmer, Donnie (Becky) Bowman and Pam (Paul) Antior. He was a loving grandfather to his grandchildren (who called him Dockie), Jade, Renee (Travis) Lark, Paige (Ryan) Martinek, Nikki (Nick) Beauchemin, Ray Sivek, Courtney (Mike) Harris and David Antior. He was a proud great grandpa to Nick, Will, Ava, Cyrus, Abel, Jack, Maisie, Cole, Ben, Autumn, Olivia, Mila, and Millie. He was also survived by his siblings, Bill (Carol) Bowman, and Carol (Steve) Macey as well as many nieces and nephews.
His life will be celebrated on Saturday, September 2, 2023 at The Royal Oak Salvation Army 3015 N. Main St. Royal Oak MI. Visitation will begin at 10:30 AM, followed by a service at 11:30. His final resting place will be at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak, MI.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Don’s memory to the Royal Oak Salvation Army youth program.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.edwardswansonandsonfuneralhome.com for the Bowman family.
