Father of former resident, WWII veteran
Gordon Bowker. (Courtesy photo)
Gordon Abbott Bowker, 95, died peacefully March 25 in Sandwich after a long and active life. He was the husband of the late Helen Christine (Roh Petersen), who died Feb. 15. Born in Worcester in 1921, he was the son of the late Harold Sawyer Bowker and Susie Mae (Upham) Bowker.
Gordon was the father of Roger Bowker, a former Harvard resident and member of the School Committee. Mary Bowker, Roger’s wife, was an editor of the Harvard Post newspaper prior to its sale in 2003 to Community Newspaper Co., owned by Herald Media Inc.
The third of four sons, Gordon was raised in Worcester and grew up hiking and exploring the woods of central Massachusetts with his brothers. He attended Worcester public schools and was a competitive swimmer and natural athlete who could swing a golf club as easily as a baseball bat. He received degrees from Framingham State University and Becker College. He was an Eagle Scout and was awarded many blue ribbons from the Worcester Horticultural Society for exhibiting the tuberous begonias he grew. He was an excellent marksman.
Gordon enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941 and attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He served as chief intelligence yeoman in the submarine service in the Pacific.
Gordon and Helen married in June 1946 and started their family in Worcester before moving to Littleton’s Snow Village in 1955. During his civilian life, he was an executive with IBM, Lincoln Laboratories, and the Concord Cooperative Bank. He was also active in Littleton town affairs.
Gordon’s remained an avid hiker of the White Mountains well into his 80s. More recently, he propagated boxwood and rhododendron in his garden, tucking in new bulbs here and there.
He leaves two sons, Roger and his wife, Mary, of East Sandwich, and Douglas and his dearest friend, Jeanne Bartel, of Weston; and his daughter, Elizabeth Jackson, of Westford and her companion, Phil Gauthier. He also leaves his grandchildren: Thorsten Bowker of Sandwich, Olympia Bowker of Cambridge, Katherine Jackson and her husband, Brad Milley, of Colorado, and Eric Jackson of Westford. He is survived by his brother Dudley F. Bowker and his wife, Gladys, of Worcester and many nieces and nephews. Gordon was predeceased by his brothers Calvin of Paxton and Bradley of Worcester.
Visiting hours will be held March 30, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Badger Funeral Home, 347 King St., Littleton. A Masonic memorial service will be held at 6:30 p.m. A funeral service will be on April 1, at 11 a.m. in the Congregational Church of Littleton, 330 King St., Littleton. Burial with U.S. Navy military honors at Rural Cemetery, Worcester, will be private.
Donations in Gordon’s memory may be sent to the Tahattawan Lodge Children’s Angel Fund, 310 King St., Littleton, MA 01460.
