More detail on this person: Raymond C. Bowers
(RC) 8/9/1928 - 12/20/2008 Born in Thomasville,
North Carolina on August 9, 1928 to William and
Marjorie Bowers, the youngest of five children. He
graduated in 1945 from Thomasville High School.
He joined the Army in 1949, and was stationed at
Fort Lawton in Seattle. He met and married Jeanne
McGuire in 1950 in Port Orchard, WA. His
distinguished Army career spanned 20 years and
included flying early design helicopters in some
of the most dangerous conditions imaginable,
pioneering the use of rotary-wing aircraft for
search and rescue in the Arctic in the early 50's,
and landing test equipment at ground zero during
three atom bomb tests. His proudest achievement
was being the first pilot selected as a member of
the US Army Executive Flight Detachment. He was
the last surviving member of the initial team. The
detachment was the helicopter service for the
President of the United States. During his
assignment at the White House, he became the
first pilot to land a helicopter on the White
House Lawn. He served in both Korea and Vietnam
and at many far posts defending our nation. After
retiring from the service, Dad worked as a
computer programmer and was instrumental in
design of the Weyerhaeuser Longview Fiber plant.
In 1987, he became an accomplished carpenter,
supplying millwork and custom wood products to
local businesses and building contractors. He was
a member of the Lions Club Int'l, the US Army
Otter-Caribou Association, and Hoo-Hoo Int'l. Ray
is survived by his devoted wife of 58 years,
Jeanne (McGuire) E Bowers, their four children,
Bob (Marian), Becke Holmes (Doug), Jerry (Joan),
and Cindy Crotty (Brian), his sister Marie E
(Paul) Waters, his brothers Wilbur (Marie) and
Charles. His grandchildren are Tanya, Kristina,
Keith, Kris, Jeff, Kaitlyn and Megan, and
great-grandchildren are Alyssa, Julian, Atiyana
and Ava. Dad joins his mother and father and
brother Dalton in eternal peace and happiness.
Memorial service will be held Jan 17, 2009 at Lake
City Community Church, 8810 Lawndale Ave., SW,
Lakewood, WA (253-582-3899). Interment at
Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent.
From: News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA) - Sunday,
January 11, 2009
Burial information: Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, WA
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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