Alta Bower

Alta Howard Bower of Virginia Beach, Virginia died on Thursday, August 14, 2014 with family in Naples, Florida. Born in Princeton, West Virginia, much of her childhood was spent in the Valley of Virginia. She attended Handley High School in Winchester, living next door to Dowell J. Howard Jr., her future husband, with whom she spent many days hiking, hunting, and swimming in the spring fed pool at Furnace Farm at the base of Great North Mountain. Alta attended Westhampton College – University of Richmond, studying mathematics and history and graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Summers during the war, she worked at the Naval Air Station supply depot at the Norfolk Naval Base expediting supplies to air squadrons being dispersed to various theaters overseas. In the spring of her senior year Dowell, her childhood sweetheart, returned from service in WWII. Marrying in 1949, they lived in Cambridge while he completed mechanical engineering studies at MIT, then moved to Cincinnati for a position with Procter & Gamble, subsequently having three children. Alta was an active member of the community and of All Saints Episcopal Church. She held the position of the Volunteer Coordinator of Parent and Family Life Education for the Cincinnati Public Schools and was a docent at the Cincinnati Zoo. Alta was a member of the Council for World Affairs, serving on the Foreign Visitor’s Committee, entertaining individuals from India, Pakistan, Africa, and Egypt who came to study advances in water purification techniques at Taft Center. Alta and Dowell purchased farms in Brown County, Ohio where they restored an old settler’s home, designed and hand built a cabin as a family project, raised cattle, grew crops and extensive vegetable gardens, and developed the land as a conservation district, winning the county award. Alta and Dowell were long time competitive Thistle sailors, based out of Cowan Lake Sailing Association in Ohio. Along with many like-minded friends, they traveled to compete in regattas throughout the Midwest. Widowed after 27 years, she married Allen McClellan Bower, Vice President of Engineering at Emco Wheaton, Ltd. Living in Erie, Pennsylvania for nine years, they moved to Virginia Beach in 1987. With Allen, also a sailor, she joined the Fishing Bay Yacht Club, extensively cruising the Chesapeake aboard their Tartan 31, “Magic”. Alta belonged to numerous organizations, including the Norfolk Society of the Arts and The Hermitage Foundation Auxiliary, maintaining an active interest in the arts. She was a devoted member of Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church. Her generous donations and the establishment of a trust in Allen’s name demonstrated her strong and enduring faith in the church. Family members include her children; Dowell Jennings Howard lll and Martha of Mason, OH, Susan Howard Fardy of Naples, FL, Edward Warfield Howard and Joyce of Bolivia, S.A., step-children; Douglas Karl Bower and Nancy Ness of Lansdale, PA, and Janet Elaine Bower and Gene Ross of Greenville, SC. Grandchildren are Amy Elizabeth Smith and Joseph of Indianapolis, IN, Dana Christine Muller and Christopher of Naples, FL, and Melissa Anne Fardy of Belmont, CA, Megan Wilder Howard of Anchorage, AK, Dowell Exton Howard of Jacksonville, FL, and Alta Grace Howard of Baltimore, MD. Five great-grandchildren include; Kaitlynn Nicole Muller, Allyson Claire Muller, Claire Alta Smith, Eleanore Anne Smith, and Josephine Rae Smith. Alta’s sister is Nancy Creech of Virginia Beach, VA. Her nieces and nephew are; Martha McClees, Melinda Parker, and David McClees, all of Virginia Beach, VA. Alta was pre-deceased by her husbands, Dowell J. Howard Jr. and Allen M. Bower, and her parents, Grace Riner Ayers and Edward Guy Ayers. A memorial service will be held Monday, September 8, 2014 at 11:00 at Eastern Shore Chapel, 2020 Laskin Rd., Virginia Beach, VA. A reception will follow at the church.