Mable Arlene (Smith)McGowan
Born: November 13, 1919 at Rockwell, Cerro Gordo Co., Iowa
Died: September 27, 2008 at Newton, Jasper Co., Iowa
Buried: Sugar Grove Cemetery
Lot Owner: Robert & Mable McGowan
Married: Robert Mc Gowan on September 8, 1946 in Missouri
Children: Gerry, Linda and Bob
Parents: Bryan and Matilda Smith
Military: U.S. Navy, World War II 1944 - 1946
Mable A. McGowen
Mable A. McGowen, 88, of Newton died on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, at USA Healthcare-Newton in Newton.
Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the Congregational United Church of Christ in Newton.
The family will greet friends from 10 a.m. until the time of service on Wednesday at the church.
Memorials to the Bonnie Ellis Ministry or to the Winsome Bible Camp - Chapel Project may be left at the church on the morning of the service or at the Wallace Family Funeral Home in Newton.
Arrangements are being handled by the Wallace Family Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton.
Survivors include her husband, Robert of Newton; two sons, Gerry (Phyllis) McGowen of Omaha, Neb., and Bob (Becci) McGowen of Waukee; one daughter, Linda (Tom) Panci-McGowen of Lausanne, Switzerland; her grandson, Zachary McGowen of Omaha, Neb.; and three sisters, Doris Philips of Columbus, Ohio, Virginia Elliott of Nevada and Juanita (William) Taylor of Mountain Grove, Mo.* ~ Posted: Monday, September 29, 2008 11:02 AM CDT
Funeral Card
Mable Arlene Smith McGowen was born November 13, 1919 to Bryan and Matilda Smith near Rockwell, Iowa. Her parents moved to Story County in 1920 and she attended various country schools. In 1933 they moved near Maxwell where she completed High School, graduating in May 1938 as Valedictorian of her class.
Mable attended Chillicothe Business College in Chillicothe, Missouri and then worked for the Woolworth Company there. In 1940 she transferred to the Woolworth store in Hastings, Nebraska. She joined the U.S. Navy in April 1944 and served until September 1946.
On September 8, 1946 she married Robert McGowen of Mountain Grove, Missouri. After a short time in Missouri they moved to Newton, Iowa, where Bob found employment with Maytag and Mable worked at Woolworths and later worked at the Newton Library and traveled with the Bookmobile. She also served as a 4-H leader for the Happy-Go-Lucky club.
In the spring of 1965 Mable became a Christian and joined Metz Community Church where she taught Sunday School, helped with VBS and sang in the choir. Mable loved to garden and is known for her homemade jams, her beautiful flowers, her crocheted blankets, her wisdom, her love for her children and her generosity.
Those left to honor Mable's memory are her husband, Bob, their three children: Gerry (Phyllis) who lives in Omaha, NE., Linda (Tom) who lives in Switzerland and Bob (Becci) who lives in Waukee, IA., grandson: Zachary McGowen of Omaha, NE, and her three sisters: Doris Philips from Columbus, OH, Virginia Elliott of Nevada, IA and Juanita Taylor of Mountain Grove, MO. Mable was preceded in death by her parents.