George Ruben Bowen

COLERAIN, NC – George Ruben Bowen, age 87, passed away on February 1, 2023 at his home after a long illness with cancer and dementia.

Mr. Bowen was born on February 22, 1935, to Lloyd Irvin and Lucy Holder Bowen in Windsor, NC. He was the third youngest of eight siblings. George was a member of Mars Hill Baptist Church and a former member of the Trap Volunteer Fire Department.

After school he joined the army and served as an SP4 in the 261st Engineers, Nuremberg, Germany. While there, he and his wife enjoyed traveling in France, Austria, and Switzerland, and touring Germany. When they returned home, he ran a filling station on Windsor, NC, worked as a mechanic for the Roanoke Chowan News Herald, and opened his own business, servicing farm shops in eastern North Carolina. As a young man, George loved fast cars and was an avid NASCAR fan, Dale Earnhardt being his favorite driver. He also enjoyed camping and working with wood. George never saw a stranger and after being stricken with dementia, if he didn’t know a person, he could make you think he did. He was a great fix-it man and if anything was broken, and was fixable, he could fix it.

Besides his parents, Mr. Bowen was preceded in death by his daughter, Suzanne Bowen; a sister, Dorothy McCarty of Medford, OR; brothers, Irvin Bowen of Portsmouth, VA, Thomas Bowen of Oxford, CA, Hubbard Bowen of Milledgeville, GA, Millard Bowen of NY, Jimmy Bowen of Port St. Lucie, FL; and as brother-in-law, Steve Northcott of Colerain. NC.

Left to cherish his memory is his devoted wife of 65 years, Nelda Northcott Bowen; his daughter, Beth Ellen Bowen of Colerain; a sister, Syble Meeks of Fayetteville, NC; a brother Claude Bowen and wife, Faye of Clayton, NC; and a special sister-in-law, Katherine Northcott of Colerain, NC

A celebration of life memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 10:00 am at the Garrett-Sykes Funeral Service, Ahoskie, NC, with Rev. Preston Jernigan officiating. A private family inurn will be in Highland Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made directly to the Trap Volunteer Fire Department, 1404 Meadow Road, Colerain, NC, 27924 or online by clicking here or directly to ECU Home Health & Hospice, 521 W. Myers St., Ahoskie, NC, 27910 or online by clicking here

Garrett-Sykes Funeral Service – Ahoskie Chapel is handling the arrangements for the Bowen family and online condolences can be directed to the family by visiting www.garrettsykesfs.com.