Helen Bowen was exceptional in more ways than one. In the 1940s and 1950s, when it wasn’t particularly common for women to pursue an education in the sciences, Bowen studied math, physics and chemistry at the University of Manitoba. After graduating, she worked as a scientist in diabetes research.
An accomplished athlete — another uncommon field of endeavour for women back then — Bowen competed as member of a synchronized swimming team when she was in her 20s and working in Chicago, and later became a Manitoba champion in mixed-doubles badminton.
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Bowen (right), with her friend Marie, was a Manitoba mixed-doubles champion in badminton.
She was the longest standing member of her golf club, and at 87, she achieved the goal of golfers both novice and professional: she got her first hole-in-one.
She broke ground, blazed some trails and, in her 80s (when many of her own peers hadn’t even learned to use a computer) was volunteering in a class to help teach new immigrants computer skills.
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Bowen joined the hole-in-one club at age 87.
Born in Winnipeg, Bowen had a twin brother and two younger sisters. Her father came from Ireland and her mother from Brandon. She lived in the same Fort Garry home for 89 years before moving to a care facility.
She was 98 when she died on Jan. 6.
Bowen lived with intention and generosity. The harvest from her vast vegetable garden was shared with her friends. With Marie, her friend of 40 years, Bowen travelled to Hawaii and Japan and many other places. Later in life, when she decided to see the polar bears in Churchill, she headed up there on her own.
Her big heart supported a variety of charities over the years. An avid theatregoer who often had season tickets to more than one theatre company now has a foundation in her name supporting the arts and local hospitals.
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Bowen (left) as a child, with her twin brother George.
Bowen never married or had children, but took the role of aunt to her three nieces and four nephews very seriously. Every Christmas season she would visit all her siblings’ houses in different provinces, bearing gifts for everyone.
Nephew Rob Bowen says his father’s twin sister was immensely interested in her work and often spoke of the team effort she experienced and appreciated in her workplace.
“When I was 13, I stayed with my aunt and she gave me a tour of her research lab,” he said. “There were centrifuges, digital counters and test tubes, and she was using stopwatches to conduct experiments.
“I felt a little self-conscious as she introduced me to her colleagues but was assured by her warm smile. That visit had a lasting impact on me,” he recalled, adding that he became a scientist in part because of his aunt’s inspiring influence.
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Bowen was a loving aunt to her seven nieces and nephews.
“She was accomplished in sports. She said even at a young age, she would be picked first for team sports. She must have had a competitive streak to be all Manitoba mixed doubles champion for 15 years. She may have had that streak, but I never saw it. She had a strong sense of self and justice.”
Every chance she could get, Bowen loved to spend time at her Fox Lake cottage in Northwest Ontario. As a child she would spend the whole summer there with her family and continued to do so well into her senior years.
Niece Susan McCowan remembers happy times canoeing and fishing with her Aunt Helen, who always seemed happy to share her beloved Fox Lake with anyone who wanted to make the trek out.
“When we were a little older, she would take my brother and I, and our mother, to her favourite blueberry-picking spots and soon my face would be purple from eating so many berries,” she recalled. “I was always so surprised how Mom and Aunt Helen’s ice cream pails would fill up so much quicker than mine. Aunt Helen would teach me patience … and maybe a little more self-control.
“I loved Aunt Helen’s squeaky bunk beds in her cottage … always vying for the top bunk. She always obliged,” McCowan said, adding that she marvelled at her aunt’s serenity, kindness and the patience she always shared with her nieces and nephews.
“I never remember her boasting about her accomplishments,” McCowan, said; she learned about her aunt’s impressive career and notable feats much later in life.
“She always seemed to be present with us … interested in our thoughts, our opinions and our desire for exploration of all things on land and water. She would take us for slow boat rides and explain some of the Fox Lake lore. I can still remember the sound and smell of her little pale green outboard motor, as we chugged along around the lake. I look back and think she must have grown weary of me asking so many questions. Never once, though, did she let on that she was tired of my endless inquiries.”
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Bowen spent much of her time at her cottage on Fox Lake.
From her earliest memories of happily anticipating her aunt’s arrival to her family’s Grosse Isle farm at Christmastime each year, McCowan remembers Aunt Helen’s visits like they were yesterday.
“She would bring her funny friend Marie, the charismatic friend ready to keep up with my childhood energy of tree-decorating, playing Scrabble, or crokinole or any other game I could drag out to keep their attention,” she said. “Aunt Helen was also a willing participant, but she exuded the quiet, loving calmness that was greatly needed by an attention-starved, rambunctious, fidgety, red-headed four-year-old.
“When I think about Aunt Helen, my heart swells.”
The day before her aunt died, McCowan went to visit her at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home. Bowen had suffered a stroke and was unresponsive, but seemed to be resting comfortably.
“I must have been at her bedside for two hours. I thanked her for being such a wonderful aunt … and such an amazing role model to me and countless friends and family. As I went to leave, holding back a bucket of tears of love for her, she reached for my hand with her functioning left hand, and gave mine a good hard squeeze and briefly opened her eyes. I hugged her and told her I loved her.”