Obituaries Bowen Obituary

William Jackson Bowen, the father of Durango resident Shelley Hatfield, died Sunday, March 20, 2011. He was two weeks shy of his 89th birthday.

Known as "Jack," he was born to Berry and Annah Robey Bowen on March 31, 1922, in Sweetwater, Texas. He graduated from Waco High School in 1938 and the New Mexico Military Institute in 1940.

He entered the University of Texas in 1940, where he met his future wife, Annis Kay Hilty. The couple married on June 6, 1945.

Mr. Bowen had earned his pilot's license when he was 17, and he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1942. After graduation and World War II, he flew military transport planes in the Pacific Theater, eventually being stationed on Okinawa.

After serving four years, Mr. Bowen resigned his commission and went to work at Delhi Oil. He was in charge of building and operating a pipeline to Florida. That led to his becoming CEO of Florida Gas Co. in 1962. After 13 years, the Bowens returned to Houston, where Mr. Bowen was the CEO of Transco Energy Co.

Mr. Bowen was interested in architecture and an amateur watercolorist, who exhibited work in Houston, New York City, Orlando, Fla., London and Mexico City. He played polo at West Point and continued his love of horses at his Gator Creek Ranch in Carmine, Texas.

Mr. Bowen is survived by his wife of 65 years, Annis Hilty Bowen; daughters Shelley Hatfield of Durango and Winter Park, Fla., and Barbara Cauble of Houston; sons Berry Bowen of Houston and Will Bowen of Gainesville, Fla.; and 10 grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Thursday, March 24, 2011, at the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA, Attn. Mary Huggins, 808 Pease, Houston, TX 77002; Watercolor Art Society of Houston, 1601 W. Alabama, Houston, TX 77006; or the charity of one's choice.