Elma was born in Harrell’s Store in Sampson County, North Carolina on September 12, 1922, daughter of the late Roena Lewis Kennedy and Ira Franklin Kennedy. She graduated from Franklin High School, class of 1939.
Elma married Charles Porter in 1942, and they had one child, Rowena.
Elma and Charles were married for fifty-five (55) years.
She was very active in many organizations, including Eastern Star, DAR, the Cape Fear Garden Club, and First Baptist Church in Wilmington, where she served as pianist and organist for many years.
In 2001, she married Lloyd Bowden, Sr., a widower, fellow Eastern Star member and a longtime friend of both her and Charles. They were married for five years before his death in 2006.
Elma was a career woman and worked at Garver Manufacturing for twenty-two (22) years, before deciding to go to college at the age fifty (50) to become a funeral director.
Elma is survived by her daughter, Rowena (Ernie) Sewell and step-son, Lloyd (Debbie) Bowden; 3 grandchildren, Tisa (Steve) O’Cain, Vance (Cari) Sewell and Shawn (Michael) Angiono; and 12 great-grandchildren: Eli (Mallory) O’Cain, Luke O’Cain, Chase Sewell, Dauphine Burns, Kennedy Sewell, Margaret Burns, Canon Sewell, Elizabeth Burns, Traci Jo Sewell, Isabelle Sewell, Carson Sewell, and Bode Sewell.
Visitation will be held from 7:00pm to 8:30pm on Friday, June 14, 2019, at Coble Ward-Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, 3915 Oleander Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403.
Funeral Service will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Coble Ward-Smith Funeral & Cremation Chapel with Dr. Jim Everette of First Baptist Church officiating.
Interment will follow at Oakdale Cemetery, 520 North 15th Street, Wilmington, NC 28401, where she will be laid to rest next to her first husband, Charles, and close to her granddaughter, Karen.
Pallbearers will be Vance Sewell, Canon Sewell, Elijah O'Cain, Luke O'Cain, Lloyd Bowden, Jr. and Scottie Kennedy.
Memorial donations in memory of Elma can be made to First Baptist Church, 411 Market Street, Wilmington, NC 28401, Franklin High School Alumni Association, P.O. Box 54 Harrell’s, NC 28444 or a charity of your choice.
Condolences to the family may be offered at www.coblewardsmithwilmington.com
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