Robert W. Bowles
Robert William Bowles, of Salem, Virginia, passed from this earthly life on Friday, January 17, 1930. Born May 16. 1930, to the late Emmett Lee and Gertrude Wilson Bowles, he is also preceded in death by his brothers, Donald L. Bowles and Kenneth R. Bowles. He attended Salem elementary schools, graduated from Andrew Lewis High School and Virginia Tech. His marriage to Margie was blessed with three children, Karen, David and Amy.
In 1950, as a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserves, Mr. Bowles was deployed to Korea and assigned to the Engineering Battalion – 1st Marine Regiment. Following his discharge, he enrolled under the G.I. Bill in Virginia Tech, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Robert's career began with the City of Salem as a building inspector, followed by many years of service with Graham-White Manufacturing Company in Salem, as a design engineer. His accomplishments at Graham-White included his design of specific pressure gauges for use in the main air pressure reservoir of railway locomotives which is still being used today.
Robert was by nature a quiet, gentle person, a man of faith, devoted to his family, a “fixer” of all things mechanical, a horticulturist who proudly displayed his gardening skills and the fruits of his labor. He was a faithful member of Central United Methodist Church in Salem until he was no longer physically able to attend services.
Those left to mourn are Margie Harris Bowles; children, Karen Bachman and husband Robert, David Bowles and wife, Janet, and Amy Bellamy and husband, Aaron; grandchildren, Annah Bachman, Julia Bachman, Sophia Bowles and Aaron Bowles; sister, Doris Barba and husband, Gilbert; sister-in-law, Lillie Bowles; brother-in-law, Carl D. Harris; sister in law, Barbara Harris; as well as several nieces and nephews; other extended family, friends, co-workers, and many others who loved him dearly.
Per the family's wishes, all services will be private.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.johnmoakey.com
When Great Trees Fall
When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety.
When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil in silence,
their senses eroded beyond fear.
When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words, unsaid,
promised walks never taken.
Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us.
Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away.
We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark, cold caves.
And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly.
Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.
Maya Angelou
