Yvonne Mae (Bowman) Bowen

She was the loving daughter of Alfred and Eva Maude (Hutchins) Bowman. She was first generation Australian.

Her father came from Leeds England in his early 20s. Her mother came from England with her family when she was a child.

Yvonne’s parents bought the house she was raised in during the Depression (around 1943). They had a double mortgage that they were able to pay off because they won a lottery. The house was on a hillside on stilts and overlooked the Brisbane River. The views were fantastic.

This river played a huge part in her life as she grew up during World War II. The river filled with American war ships. The town filled with American soldiers. They said there were a million American GIs as this is where General McArthur retreated to regroup.e loved riding her brother on the back of her bike around the neighborhood and playing with her dog, Acker. Her fondest memory of Acker was riding alongside the river watching the Americans and their ships and jeeps. She said that every day her dog would run down to the river for his daily swim and the Americans would stop for him to cross the street.

Bonne (as she was known to most people) left the all girls school she attended after the 10th grade to become a typist. At about 17, she started training with the Brisbane General to become a nurse. She became a full RN (registered nurse) at 21.

She did leave the Brisbane General for about 6 months to work with the Royal Flying Doctors Service. This group flies small planes to the Australian Outback to bring medical care to remote ranchers. She used to tell us the emu’s ran along side the planes as they would take off.

She returned to the Brisbane General for a few more years until her parents house played another part in her life.

She did a stint in Mid-Wifery at the Hospital. She bragged that women would get to spend up to 3 weeks in the hospital after delivering a baby.

At some point her father had enclosed those stilts to create an apartment. Around 1956. there were some Americans living in that apartment. They knew an American man currently working on his Fulbright out of the Melbourne University. They introduced Yvonne to Richard Bowen.

Yvonne and Richard “dated” over the course of about a year. They actually saw each other maybe 6 weeks over the course of this year. She says she applied to a job in Malaya causing Richard to quickly propose.

After the wedding, they went on a year long honeymoon that included seeing Angkor Wat before it was damaged, India and Paris. She said they did this trip on $30 a day! They finally returned to Richard’s hometown of Athens, Georgia.

Once residing in the US, she got her license to continue nursing now at the Athens General. She spent her spare time typing up Richard’s thesis for his PhD.

Cynthia was born in the Athens General in 1959 and Richard left for the Congo.

Once Richard got established, he sent for his wife and new baby. Finding them a place to live in Luanda, Angola. This only lasted about 6 months as revolution broke out and they needed to be moved. Richard moved Bonne and Cynthia to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to an apartment. Richard also got a transfer to work in the Sahara with Gulf Oil. On the way to the Canary Islands, they visited Rome, Madrid and Casablanca.

As they say, he must have come home some time, because Bonne got pregnant with her next child. Gulf Oil flew Bonne back to Brisbane so she could be with family when she had her baby. A boy - Chris. Born in the Brisbane General in 1961.

When Chris was about 3 months old, Bonne’s father helped her get herself and the children from Brisbane to Sydney to take a ship back to the US to meet up with Richard again. On this ship, Chris is said to have screamed the whole time. That being another day and time, he was given whiskey in his milk to shut him up. She now had a screaming, drunk baby on her hands. And a daughter that wanted someone to make the wind stop messing her hair as they went through the Panama Canal.

This family was met in Miami by Richard’s father Stacey. Getting in the car was the 1st time in 3 weeks Chris had stopped screaming. He held his head up and looked around.

After returning to Athens, the whole family lived together with Richard’s parents or the lady across the street until Richard got a job in Brazil about 8 months later.

Richard got a job with the American University in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Bonne started living the “glamorous” life. Living in a high rise apartment. Two live in maids. Playing tennis most days at the British Club. Going to and giving parties. Life was good. Until the revolution.

Richard decided it was time to move the family to a small town like he was raised in. So he got a job with the University of Southern Mississippi as a Geology professor.

They landed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, just before Christmas 1964 and spent that 1st Christmas in the Dumas Motel as it was the nicest hotel in town.

A couple months later they moved into the house on Longwood Court where they would spend most of the rest of their lives. At the time of move in, Longwood Court was the edge of town. There were only a handful of houses on the other side of the street. Everything behind there was woods. And Hattiesburg had 1 restaurant.

And in the spring of 1965, Fiona was born at the Forrest General Hospital.

Once the kids got a bit older and were in school, Bonne went back to school to get recertified for nursing. On completing her courses and getting her Mississippi license, she started working at Forrest General. After several years, she left there to work for South Mississippi Home Health until her retirement.

Each year, she would take a month vacation to return to Australia to spend time with her family. She often returned with stories of the fishing trips with her father and sister. She loved to fish. She continued these vacations after her retirement and until her husband’s health started to fail.

After her retirement and while still making trips to Australia, she wrote her book “Murdering Creek”. She traveled with her sister - Julia - to the North Queensland jungles (the Iron Range) to learn about bird smuggling and Black Palm Cockatoos. She even took a law enforcement course with the Hattiesburg Police Department.

For most of her life in Hattiesburg, Bonne was a member of the British Women’s Club. She really enjoyed being able to talk to others with similar backgrounds.

Never one to turn down a surgery, she had both knees and both hips replaced. Due to a serious fall, she also had 1 shoulder replaced and both eyes got the cataract surgery.

She spent her final couple of years living with her daughters in Atlanta. Going for outings. Dinners out. And sitting on the porch watching the birds.

Yvonne passed on Friday, January 10, 2025, early in the morning. When she passed at 94, she left behind her sister, Julia, brother, Laurie (Laurence) and assorted nieces and nephews, her 3 children and her cat. She lived a full life. Saw a lot. Did a lot. And made some great friends who loved her to the end.

If you wish to do something to honor her memory, please give to one of the following charities:

Dr. Richard L. Bowen Memorial Geology Annual Scholarship FUND #2185

USM Foundation

118 College Dr. #5210

Hattiesburg, MS 30406

Or

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Po Box 50

Memphis, TN 38101-9929

Condolences may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com.