Elena Bowes

A lifetime dedicated to educational excellence and support of Filipino culture came to a peaceful end on Thanksgiving Day for Elena Punsalan Bowes. Beautiful both inside and out, Elena passed away November 24, 2022, at the age of 76, leaving a legacy of indelible marks on her family, friends and thousands of students with whom she had interacted.

A native of the Philippines and resident of Katy, Texas, Elena was well-known for her efforts to preserve the Filipino culture so important to her. She actively worked to provide opportunities for members of the community to bond and pass on traditions to the next generations, as well as support of Filipino charities. At her death, she was an officer of PCCI (People Caring for the Community, Inc.) and the leader of the PCCI Dance Troupe, which performed traditional Philippine Dances at various events.

Little did Elena realize when she and her sisters hosted an American Air Force officer for a meal in 1974 that her life was about to change. Clark Air Base was nearby, and Elena’s oldest sister had invited Capt. Charles “Tim” Bowes, who lived across the street from her, to her home for a meal. As far as Tim was concerned, this was nothing more than an opportunity to enjoy a free meal, and better yet, one he didn’t have to cook. However, Tim couldn’t help but notice the pretty English teacher who was the sister of his hostess. It didn’t take long for Tim and Elena to strike up a friendship, and shortly thereafter, a romantic interest in each other.

Tim and Elena made their union permanent on October 12, 1974, and would spend the next 48 years together. They had three children who loved and respected their mother very much: Charles (Courtney), Christopher and Melody (Darren), and three grandchildren. Elena was preceded in death by her parents, Felino and Remigia Punsalan. She leaves behind a brother, Romeo, two sisters, Elisa and Elvira, and their families.

The couple spent the first several years of their married lives on various military installations, culminating with four years in Washington, D.C., where Tim worked in the Pentagon. Elena had worked on her master’s degree at the University of the Philippines prior to their marriage, and later earned her Master’s in Education with an emphasis in English as a Second Language (ESL) from George Mason University outside of Washington. She subsequently also obtained her Principalship Certification from the University of St. Tomas, Houston, Texas.

After retirement from the US Air Force, they moved to Texas, where Tim had grown up, and Elena dove headfirst into her teaching career. She began as an ESL teacher at the elementary level, moved up to junior high and eventually high school, before transitioning into teaching technology classes. A new assignment had brought her to a renovated school that was the first in the state to have multiple computers in the classroom. Elena didn’t yet know how to use them (she once called Tim to ask how to turn on their home computer), but figured if her classroom had them, she was going to put them to use.

Other teachers were not as eager to embrace the new equipment, so Elena ended up with three times more computers than her original allocation, later attracting a visit from the governor of Texas for her efforts. She ended her teaching career as an ESL specialist and was the long-time faculty sponsor for the high school’s Asian club.

“I like Mrs. Bowes because she is very nice and because she shows us how to learn English and how to use the computer,” wrote one of her students. “I like Mrs. Bowes because she is wonderful, helpful, and she is so perfect.” These same students, when asked to state their dislikes, generally complained about her demands that they stay on task and how strongly she could make those demands.

Elena’s dedication to her profession and her students was unmatched. Although at retirement, Spring Branch ISD in Houston would only credit her with 29 years of teaching, in her early years of her actual thirty years of teaching for Spring Branch ISD, it was common for her to be the first staff member to arrive at school in the morning and the last to leave. She would make her own teaching aids at the elementary level if none were available, and later conducted home visits with her ESL students and parents until her principal effectively put an end to that due to safety concerns.

After retirement, Elena turned her energies more and more to charity work, including becoming involved with the Lions Club and the PCCI, and teaching technology classes at the Harris County Senior Citizen Center.

Away from school, Elena was an excellent cook, lovingly preparing a variety of Filipino dishes that many friends and family members appreciated (even if Tim wasn’t an enthused fan). She also was quite the Mahjong shark, sometimes hosting all-night parties to play the Asian tile-based game. She was also just as quick to play Scrabble, at which Tim claimed she had an unfair advantage since she had gone to the effort to actually learn English. (Without Spell-check, Tim was totally lost.)

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.memorialoaksfunerals.com for the Bowes family.