1988-05-02
Collection: 1988
Title
1988-05-02
Subject
Fowler, Imogene
Description
Obituaries published in the Augusta Daily Gazette
Creator
Augusta Daily Gazette, Augusta, Kansas, USA
Source
Augusta Historical Museum, Augusta, Kansas, USA
Publisher
Augusta Public Library, Augusta, Kansas, USA
Date
1988-05-02
Format
Clippings
Language
English
Type
application/pdf
Citation
Augusta Daily Gazette, Augusta, Kansas, USA, “1988-05-02,” Digital Augusta, accessed November 24, 2024, https://augusta.digitalsckls.info/item/572.
Text
Monday, May 2, 1988
In Loving Memory
IMOGENE FOWLER
Some forty-three years ago, a young woman from Pennsylvania stepped into a small Midwestern town with all the optimism and apprehension of a newcomer.
She had just arrived from the big cities of the East where she had lived and worked for nearly three years. She had been a nurse. More precisely, a pharmacist’s mate in the U.S. Navy during the War. And, most importantly, she had fallen in love with a marine from Kansas.
So it was, that in 1945, Imogene Fowler found herself in Augusta, about to begin a new life. One that would embrace marriage, children and a list of friends to be made but never forgotten. A life that kept her here for almost thirty years before she moved with her husband Wally, to the Southwest, in 1974.
Throughout the following fourteen years her life continued to be a full one, as a wife, a mother and someone who wanted to be involved in the community.
But, last week that life came to a close. Quietly, with her family at her side, she passed away at the VA Hospital in Tuscon on April 14th.
She was 65.
Imogene Louise Kirsch began her life on August 28, 1922 in the mining community of Spangler, PA, which sits ninety miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
She was the first born of Martin and Leona Kirsch who eventually raised five children. Like her siblings after her, Imogene received an education at Holy Cross Parochial School and then Spangler High.
As a child she developed a strong passion for becoming involved in community affairs. The Girl Scouts, 4H Club and “Sodality”, (a young women’s Catholic organization) were a few of her extra curricular activities; not to mention her place as a member on the local women’s basketall team, “Dai-sey’s Dashing Damsels.”
After graduating in 1940, Imogene attended the Jefferson School of Nursing in Philadelphia, and two-and-a-half years later, joined the WAVE’S (Women’s Auxilary Volunteer) as a pharmacists mate, 2nd class.
The Summer of 1943 was just beginning to fade when she met a marine sergeant named Wally Fowler, in New York City. They were married on October 9th of that year and then separated a few days later with his assignment to the Pacific Theater and her obligation as a Navy nurse in the States.
Her new husband was the son of Mr. & Mrs. W.W. (Bill) Fowler of Augusta - prominent figures in the community since 1919. So, when it became evident that the war was about to end, she obtained an honorable discharge from the Navy and made plans to move to Augusta. There, she prepared for Wally’s return, residing with her new in-laws and working as a Chief Inspector for the Cessna Aircraft Factory in Wichita.
After the war, Gene and Wally lived in Chicago where their first child, Sandra, was born. But they returned to Augusta in 1947 to purchase Fowler’s Super Service, the Mobil Oil business at Osage and 7th St. that had been started by Bill Fowler in the 1920’s.
During the decades that followed, they raised a family that grew to include two sons, Richard and Joseph, and a second daughter, Kristin. Gene’s primary occupation was that of housewife and mother, supporting her family in ways too numerous to mention. Still, she managed to help run the service station and later to operate other family owned businesses.
Always one to be involved, Gene was a member of many organizations in town, including the Elks Auxilary and the Catholic Women’s Auxilary of St. James Church. Beyond the city limits she performed fund raising events around the state for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.
In 1974, shortly after their children left home, Gene and Wally pulled up stakes and moved to Tuscon. There, she remained active in business, politics, volunteer work and service organizations.
One of her most remembered contributions was her role as an area coordinator for Governor Raul Castro who was elected in 1976. She was also a training director for Red Lobster Restaurants, Inc., a member of the Auxilary serving St. Joseph’s Hospital, and a member of Desert WAVE’S of Tuscon (Unit #13).
Until her death, Gene was quite proud of the time she spent as a WAVE. So were her family and friends. Back in her home town of Spangler, she is the only woman listed on the Honor Role of Veterans who served during World War II.
Imogene Louise Fowler was buried on April 16th in Holy Hope Cemetery, Tuscon.
She is survived by her husband Wally, two sons, Richard of San Diego and Joseph of Augusta, and two daughters, Sandy Bobbitt of San Diego and Kristin Bell of Augusta.
Other surviving family members include a sister, Vivian Moon of California, brothers Joseph and John and a sister Karen Conrad, all of Pennsylvania.
Original Format
Newspaper clipping
Title
1988-05-02
Subject
Fowler, Imogene
Description
Obituaries published in the Augusta Daily Gazette
Creator
Augusta Daily Gazette, Augusta, Kansas, USA
Source
Augusta Historical Museum, Augusta, Kansas, USA
Publisher
Augusta Public Library, Augusta, Kansas, USA
Date
1988-05-02
Format
Clippings
Language
English
Type
application/pdf
Citation
Augusta Daily Gazette, Augusta, Kansas, USA, “1988-05-02,” Digital Augusta, accessed November 24, 2024, https://augusta.digitalsckls.info/item/572.Text
Monday, May 2, 1988
In Loving Memory
IMOGENE FOWLER
Some forty-three years ago, a young woman from Pennsylvania stepped into a small Midwestern town with all the optimism and apprehension of a newcomer.
She had just arrived from the big cities of the East where she had lived and worked for nearly three years. She had been a nurse. More precisely, a pharmacist’s mate in the U.S. Navy during the War. And, most importantly, she had fallen in love with a marine from Kansas.
So it was, that in 1945, Imogene Fowler found herself in Augusta, about to begin a new life. One that would embrace marriage, children and a list of friends to be made but never forgotten. A life that kept her here for almost thirty years before she moved with her husband Wally, to the Southwest, in 1974.
Throughout the following fourteen years her life continued to be a full one, as a wife, a mother and someone who wanted to be involved in the community.
But, last week that life came to a close. Quietly, with her family at her side, she passed away at the VA Hospital in Tuscon on April 14th.
She was 65.
Imogene Louise Kirsch began her life on August 28, 1922 in the mining community of Spangler, PA, which sits ninety miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
She was the first born of Martin and Leona Kirsch who eventually raised five children. Like her siblings after her, Imogene received an education at Holy Cross Parochial School and then Spangler High.
As a child she developed a strong passion for becoming involved in community affairs. The Girl Scouts, 4H Club and “Sodality”, (a young women’s Catholic organization) were a few of her extra curricular activities; not to mention her place as a member on the local women’s basketall team, “Dai-sey’s Dashing Damsels.”
After graduating in 1940, Imogene attended the Jefferson School of Nursing in Philadelphia, and two-and-a-half years later, joined the WAVE’S (Women’s Auxilary Volunteer) as a pharmacists mate, 2nd class.
The Summer of 1943 was just beginning to fade when she met a marine sergeant named Wally Fowler, in New York City. They were married on October 9th of that year and then separated a few days later with his assignment to the Pacific Theater and her obligation as a Navy nurse in the States.
Her new husband was the son of Mr. & Mrs. W.W. (Bill) Fowler of Augusta - prominent figures in the community since 1919. So, when it became evident that the war was about to end, she obtained an honorable discharge from the Navy and made plans to move to Augusta. There, she prepared for Wally’s return, residing with her new in-laws and working as a Chief Inspector for the Cessna Aircraft Factory in Wichita.
After the war, Gene and Wally lived in Chicago where their first child, Sandra, was born. But they returned to Augusta in 1947 to purchase Fowler’s Super Service, the Mobil Oil business at Osage and 7th St. that had been started by Bill Fowler in the 1920’s.
During the decades that followed, they raised a family that grew to include two sons, Richard and Joseph, and a second daughter, Kristin. Gene’s primary occupation was that of housewife and mother, supporting her family in ways too numerous to mention. Still, she managed to help run the service station and later to operate other family owned businesses.
Always one to be involved, Gene was a member of many organizations in town, including the Elks Auxilary and the Catholic Women’s Auxilary of St. James Church. Beyond the city limits she performed fund raising events around the state for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.
In 1974, shortly after their children left home, Gene and Wally pulled up stakes and moved to Tuscon. There, she remained active in business, politics, volunteer work and service organizations.
One of her most remembered contributions was her role as an area coordinator for Governor Raul Castro who was elected in 1976. She was also a training director for Red Lobster Restaurants, Inc., a member of the Auxilary serving St. Joseph’s Hospital, and a member of Desert WAVE’S of Tuscon (Unit #13).
Until her death, Gene was quite proud of the time she spent as a WAVE. So were her family and friends. Back in her home town of Spangler, she is the only woman listed on the Honor Role of Veterans who served during World War II.
Imogene Louise Fowler was buried on April 16th in Holy Hope Cemetery, Tuscon.
She is survived by her husband Wally, two sons, Richard of San Diego and Joseph of Augusta, and two daughters, Sandy Bobbitt of San Diego and Kristin Bell of Augusta.
Other surviving family members include a sister, Vivian Moon of California, brothers Joseph and John and a sister Karen Conrad, all of Pennsylvania.
Original Format
Newspaper clipping