Martha Bowen Magness' Obituary
Graveside services for Martha Bowen Magness will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday October 6, 2005 at Resthaven Memorial Park in Jacksonville, Texas, with Father Will Russell officiating. She passed away October 3 in Longview at the age of 78. Visitation for family and friends will be held Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 7:00 PM at Rader Funeral Home in Longview.
Martha was born November 9, 1926 at Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was the youngest of three daughters and one son born to Dalton Anthony Bowen and Mattie Bell James. At the time of her birth, Mr. Bowen was the manager of operations for the Mack Truck Company in Tulsa. During the economic dislocation of the Great Depression the Bowen?s were forced to move to Paris, Texas to be nearer to family. Martha attended Paris High School and graduated in 1943 at the age of 16. About this time the Bowen family moved to Jacksonville, where Mr. Bowen owned and operated Bowen Food Store. Because she was so young, and feeling that she deserved additional time in high school, Martha successfully registered for classes at Jacksonville High School the following fall. She attended classes until school administrators received her transcript from Paris. Learning that she was already a graduate, they unceremoniously expelled her. She later attended Lon Morris College where she studied business.
As a young woman, Martha worked as a bookkeeper, holding positions with companies in Jacksonville, Dallas, and Houston. While in Houston she met and married Stanley A. Magness and thereafter they relocated to Tyler, Texas where they raised their family. During this time she also was on the staff of Opportunities In Tyler and later established Bowen Pet Photography. She moved to Longview in 1990.
Martha was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Marianne Wood.
She is survived by her brother, William Bowen of Ft. Worth, sister Betty Jean Zednick, of Jacksonville, son Steven Magness of Paris, daughter and son-in-law, Tracy and Gary Krell of Longview, and grandsons Craig Magness of Austin, Paul Magness of Paris, and Jordan Matheny of San Francisco, California.
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