Dolores C Bowles

Dolores Cecilia Bowles (Hackett) of Baltimore was born on January 2, 1936to Marie and Weems Hackett. Three days after celebrating her eighty-fourth birthday she answered God's calling and passed away at home. Dolores received her early education in Baltimore City Catholic schools. She attended higher education at Carver High School. Dolores was the fourth of sixteen children. In 1950, her parents passed away when she was fourteen years old. Thirteen of the couple's children lived to adulthood. Dolores and her siblings, except for the eldest, Anita and Gloria, were placed in Saint Elizabeth's orphanage, a Franciscan order of nuns in Baltimore. As the siblings became of age, they took the younger children out as their foster children. Dolores adopted the youngest two, Imelda and June. She married on her eighteenth birthday to Joseph Christopher Bowles, whom she met at Saint Elizabeths. He preceded her in death on April 19, 1974. Dolores is survived by five children, Michael Anthony Bowles, Maria Therese Bowles-James, Christopher Joseph Bowles, Donna Cecilia Bowles, and David Kevin Michael Bowles and her sisters Carmelita Hackett and Imelda Hackett-Felton. Her brothers, William Hackett, Alfred Hackett, Adrian Hackett, Emanuel Hackett, Donald Hackett and Michael Anthony Hackett also preceded her in death. Her sisters Anita Hackett-Sterrette, Teresa Hackett-Jordan, Gloria Hackett-Jackson and June Hackett-Richey preceded her in death as well. She is also survived by ten grandchildren (her eldest granddaughter Kelli Marie Bowles passed away in 2015), twenty one great grandchildren (another expected in January, 2020) and a great great grand child expected in May. Survivors also include two of her cousins, Evelyn Birdsong and Elaine Sivels and two close friends, Vicki (Lucille) Hazel and Dorothy Dorsey. Dolores raised her five children with an emphasis on education in the Catholic school system and enriched their lives with cultural opportunities. The oldest grand child, Yusef (Joseph) Amin, as a young child, in an effort to pronounce grandmommy instead pronounced "Jammommy" and a tradition began. Jammommy was a significant teacher of all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She took great joy in teaching the next two generations early educational skills such as reading and identifying shapes and colors. She was a woman with a brilliant mind - often seen completing crossword puzzles. She was our spell-check before computers. Every grand and great grand child can attribute much of their early developmental success to our matriarch. Dolores was loyal and faithful to everyone she knew. Once she left Saint Elizabeth's orphanage she held various jobs, but returned to Saint Elizabeth's as a cook and overall caregiver to the Franciscan sisters. Her service continued decades until she retired at the age of sixty five. She remained friends with many of the sisters until her passing. Dolores opened her home to many of her relatives over the years and to one of her nephews, Jerrell Carroll, who held a special place in her heart. Dolores was a quiet and private but did not hesitate to speak her mind. Her life was her family. Because of her contributions to many generations her legacy will live on. -- Maria Therese James

Tributes

Dolores C Bowles

January 2, 1936 - January 5, 2020