Donnie "Don" L. Bowman

While living in the small town of Elk City, Oklahoma, Bonny (B.T.) and Minnie Bowman welcomed their eighth child, Donnie Leon, on January 31, 1934. Donnie’s family moved West when he was eight months old, where they followed the harvest, moving from state to state trying to make a living. At the age of five, Donnie learned to work alongside the rest of his family. He was the best 5-year-old shoeblack in town, sometimes taking a half of a can of polish and an hour of time to make those farmers’ old muddy boots to shine, and only charging 5 cents. After graduating from Homedale High in 1951, Don joined the Navy and served on a seaplane tender during the Korean War. In 1953, while on a two-week furlough, God, for Christ’s sake, forgave him of all of his sins. Three months later, God did the second work of entire sanctification in his heart. While in port at Iwakuni, Japan, God called Don to preach. He began right there on the ship, taking the responsibility of the Protestant services from the Catholic chaplain. In 1954, Don was discharged from the Navy, returned to Idaho, and enrolled in Northwest Nazarene College. On April 27, 1956, he married his sweetheart, Grace Elizabeth Watson, daughter of Challen and Margaret Watson. After pastoring in Nebraska, Washington, and Oregon, the Don Bowman family, which now included three children, became missionaries to Japan. For 17 years, the Bowman family literally sacrificed their lives to bring the Gospel to the dear Japanese people. By the time they returned to the States in 1982, they had lost their first four children to a tragic accident, and then had three more children born to them! In 1983, Don was elected to be the first full-time General Foreign Missions Secretary. He faithfully served in that capacity for the next 32 years, traveling all over the world, still proclaiming the wonderful salvation through Jesus Christ. Though Don suffered a major physical setback in 2017, he recovered to a point where his family thought he probably would last quite a few more years. However, a few days ago, he began suffering from cold-like symptoms. It looked like he was getting better, but on Thanksgiving Day 2020, Thursday, November 26th, at 11:17 pm, after spending part of the day with his family on earth gathered around his bed, he quietly and peacefully went to spend the rest of Thanksgiving with his family in Heaven. His life here was over, but his real life is just beginning. The viewing will be at the Homedale Bible Missionary Church on Wednesday from 6:00–8:00 pm. Funeral services will be held at the Caldwell Christian Church in Caldwell, Idaho, on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 10:00 am.