Oscar Bowman

OSAR BOWMAN, was born on January 1, 1918 in Richmond, Virginia to the late William and Carrie Bowman. On November 27, 2011, Oscar went peacefully to join his loved ones in Heaven with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was the second of seven children. He had one brother and five sisters. Only the eldest sister, Marie and brother, Leonard Duncan remain. When his father died and his mother left, he had to stop school and work to help his grandmother raise his sisters. Oscar married Edith Ann Dilver on January 31, 1943 and from this union they were blessed with five children, Paulette, Linda, Oscar Terry, William Dean and Thomas. He also raised his niece, Kathryn Dilver Thomas as his daughter. Even though he never completed High School, he was able to provide his family with all of their needs and most of their wants by working two jobs and sometimes three. Even though he didn’t realize it, he was a visionary. He provided his children with the tools they needed to succeed. He always expected more of us than we did of ourselves and pushed us to be better than we thought we could. He set the bar high and each time we would achieve a goal, he would say, “that is no less than I Exspected.” He was a great family man who took his family on trips each Sunday after church during the summers to amusement parks, the airport, the beach and to visit out-of-state relatives. We always ate dinner together and no one could go out to play on Sunday if you couldn’t get up to attend church. Oscar, affectionately called “Master B” by the residents of Cherry Hill, was the Manager of the local Hardware Store. He not only repaired window screens and broken storm windows, but small appliances and often delivered and layed down linoleum carpet for the residents. He was a self taught all-around handyman, who earned extra money painting homes for clients, building club basements, patio, book shelves and any carpentry and pluming job he was contracted to do. He was an entrepreneur in that he owned his own Record Store and established his own contracting business. He loved to listen to Jazz with his other male friends from the church. He allowed us to give the house parties so that he could keep an eye on everybody. He joined Cherry Hill Community Presbyterian Church during the pastor ship of Reverend Edgar Ward. He served as a Trustee and was the maintenance man for the church for many years. He leaves to celebrate his memory: three children, Paulette, Linda and Thomas Sr. (Deana), Tonja, Antoine, Thomas Jr., Terry, Tiffany (Michael Matthews, Jr.) Trevant and Eliza; five great-great- grandchildren, Camren and Zyan; his brother, Leonard Duncan; his sister, Marie; two sisters-in-law, Emma Webster and Nina Punell; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Tributes

Oscar Bowman

January 1, 1918 - November 27, 2011