Bernard P. Bowse, Jr., 58, of Southbridge, died Wednesday, June 12th surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Marylou (Austin) Bowse; three sons, Ronald Bowse of Worcester and Justin and Peter Bowse both of Chicago; two daughters, Katie Bowse of Port St. Lucie, FL and Emily Bowse of Southbridge; his brother Ronald Kramek and his wife, Mary of Worcester; a granddaughter, Kyomi Black; two cousins, Vincent Bacys of Worcester and Alphonse Petkiewicz of Idaho and several nephews and nieces.
He was born in Worcester, the son of Bernard P. Bowse, Sr. and Celia T. (Kramek) Bowse. Bernard was a graduate of Berkshire Christian College where he earned his B.A. in Theology, and later the University of Southern California where he received his M.S.in Education. Mr. Bowse proudly served in the United States Air Force for fourteen years. While in the Air Force he and his family were stationed in Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Delaware, Maine, Japan, Okinawa, California, South Carolina and Connecticut before settling in Massachusetts. He was an ordained minister of the Advent Christian denomination, serving for twelve years as a pastor; and later worked for the Veterans Administration, four years as the Director of Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina and most recently as a Field Examiner for the VA .
His funeral is Monday, June 17th with a service at 1:00 p.m. in O’CONNOR BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME, 592 Park Avenue. Calling hours will be held Monday, from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service in the funeral home. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Wounded Warrior Project, 370 7th Avenue, Suite 1802, New York, NY 10001.