Barbara Anne Bower, 74, of Yorktown, Virginia, passed away Friday, April 17, 2020, at Vibra Hospital in Richmond, Virginia.
Barbara was born Sept. 1, 1945, to Helen A. (Potter) and Robert O. Bower in Des Moines, Iowa. She was the eldest of three children. The younger siblings were Richard Thomas and Mary Christine.
Barbara grew up in Perry, Iowa, and graduated from Perry High School in 1963. She then attended the University of Iowa and graduated in 1967.
Her younger sister, Mary Christine (Bower) Clemens, passed away in 2019.
Barbara is survived by Mary’s husband, Jeffrey Clemens of Chillicothe, Missouri; and their children, Scott of Denver, Colorado, and Christina of Columbia, Missouri. She is also survived by her younger brother, Richard Bower; his wife, Bette (Conard) from Argyle, Texas; and their son, Benjamin of Fort Worth, Texas. Barbara’s son, Patrick Bower, lives in Yorktown, Virginia.
She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; several beloved aunts and uncles; and extended family members.
Barbara started her career at the Iowa State Historical Museum in Des Moines and then worked at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library/Museum in West Branch, Iowa.
She spent 15 years at the Fort Lewis Military Museum in Tacoma, Washington, and finished her career after 17 years at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum in Fort Eustis, Virginia, near Newport News.
Barbara retired in 2005 as museum director after 35 years of museum experience.
She spent more than 10 years organizing “The Gathering,” which had and still has annual meetings for Vietnam-era transportation and gun-truck veterans. She was a key to the success of these events and was known as “The Den Mother.”
Barbara’s lifelong passion was family genealogy, and she was an accomplished pre-internet researcher. She and her mother, Helen, spent many days visiting endless court offices and cemeteries. She published three books: “Heidner-Pfeifer Genealogy (1786-1902)” in 1996, compiled and published with her mother Helen Potter Bower; “The Ancestors of Charles Edward Potter (1891-1980),” published in 2009; and “Seven Generations of the Adam Bower Family,” published in 2009.
Barbara was a member of Christ the King Episcopal Church, a member of the New England Historical Genealogical Society and a member of the Washington State Historical Society. She also was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution Society.
There will be a memorial service for Barbara at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum in Fort Eustis, Virginia, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020.
If desired, contributions can be made to the Barbara Bower Memorial Fund at the Army Transportation Museum Foundation, Drawer D, Newport News, VA 23604.
Barbara was the best. She worked with the girls setting up The Gathering Vietnam Veterans for many years. I will miss her.
Barbara was a dear friend who helped me a great deal when I was writing my books on Vietnam Gun Trucks. Before she passed away, she came to visit us at our home and enjoyed petting our new kittens. My wife, Martha, and I will miss her very much.