Obituary of Thelma Patricia Bowman

Thelma Patricia (England) Bowman (83) passed away on August 6, 2016 at Valley Vista Care Center in St. Maries, ID. She was born on December 22, 1932 to Roy and Mabel England on the Salmon River below Northfork, ID and was the 7th of 14 children. She married William Bowman in 1949. They had 6 daughters, and divorced after 25 years of marriage. Thelma worked in restaurants most of her life, first as a waitress and then as a cook. In the 1960’s she owned the Handy Corner Café in St. Maries and is remembered fondly for her wonderful food, especially for her cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls. Thelma went back to school and earned her GED and then worked in the medial field, first in inventory and then in sterilizing equipment in Seattle, WA. After retiring, she moved to Winchester, ID. She loved to sew and made beautiful quilts. Thelma crocheted and made bead jewelry. She belonged to several square dance clubs and had a great passion for it. Thelma had a wonderful sense of humor and was a great story-teller. She was a very generous person and was always helping someone. Thelma is survived by her daughters Teresa (Gary) Smith of St. Maries, ID, Kathy (Dusty) Peterson of Turtle Lake, ND, Anna (Sue) Bowman of Carnation, WA, Jenny (Mike) Herman of Hamilton, MT, Patti (Michael) Humpherys of Lewiston, ID, and Billie Sue Littleton of Seattle, WA. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; brothers Wayne England, Butch England, and Bud England all of Salmon, ID; sisters Mary Ellen Pancake of Salmon, ID and Linda Ellwine of Spokane, WA; and numerous nieces and nephews. No services at Thelma’s request; however a private celebration of her life will be held at a later date.