Vivian Favre Bowles

Born March 17, 1924, in Gulfport, Mississippi, Vivian was the fifth of seven children. She had a very athletic childhood—she loved to roller skate and later played basketball at Gulfport High School.  (She continued her penchant for athletic habits as she matured, often meeting her colleagues for a morning walk at 5:00 a.m.)

After an elementary school field trip, “Viv” knew that she wanted to be a telephone operator. Not approving of that choice, after high school, Vivian’s mother enrolled her in secretarial school.  Showing the determination, she was noted for, Viv surreptitiously dropped out of secretarial school and began training to become a telephone operator for Southern Bell Telephone.  While working with Bell, Vivian met her future husband, Herman Bowles, when he was repeatedly dispatched to the Gulf Coast to repair phone lines damaged by hurricanes. They ultimately married in 1950 and made their home in Montgomery (which was halfway between Gulfport and Herman’s hometown in northern Alabama) where they raised their family of three girls.

 As the children got older, she worked at Alabama Christian College as a switchboard operator and later for the Montgomery Board of Education as a teacher’s aide and in various other capacities. She was a true role model for the modern woman. She was a sharing, inspiring, and loving person who made countless contributions to all within her extended family and her friends.

 She was preceded in death by her husband Herman of 63 years and her three dogs Bosco, Coco, and Harley.  She is survived by her daughters, Nona Bowles Walker (Dallas, TX), Linda Bowles and husband, Richard Eichholz (Union Pier, MI), Lisa Bowles (Birmingham, AL), and grandson, Jim Eichholz (Chicago, IL).

 Our sincerest thanks to caregivers Brenda Sims and Angie Fluker, who were constantly by her side.

Services will be conducted at 10:00 a.m. on August 22, 2023, at Leak-Memory Chapel, with viewing and visitation one hour prior.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Leak-MC.com for the Bowles family.