Lydia Greene Bowden

Lydia McAulay Greene Bowden passed away December 15, 2017 at her home.

 Lydia was a lifelong Methodist, Currently a member of Virginia Beach United Methodist Church. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00AM Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at First United Methodist Church in Mt. Gilead. Rev. Duane Partin will officiate and burial will follow in Sharon Cemetery in Mt. Gilead. The family will receive friends from 10:30 until 11:00 Wednesday morning at the church. Family and friends will gather in remembrance at the family home on January 6, 2018 from 3:00 until 5:00 PM.

She was born in Mt. Gilead, NC to Charles Spurgeon and Minnie Brookshire Greene and grew up in a farming family in rural central North Carolina.

Lydia was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Frank and four brothers; Charles, Keith, Hunter and Gordon. She is survived by her daughters Cynthia Bowden and Jeanette Thorpe (Les), her sister, Mary Ellen Haywood and sister-in-law Alice Sternloff and many loving nieces and nephews.

After high school she attended Louisburg College where she studied business and met her future husband of 58 years Franklin Palmer Bowden. Shortly after marriage Lydia became a Navy wife and for 22 years accompanied her husband through several moves along the East coast learning to take care of the home and family through many deployments. She was a stay at home mom to her daughters, often serving as room mother and Sunday school teacher.

She was a very creative person with an appreciation for beautiful things of all kinds, plants and flowers, home décor, antiques, quilts and collectibles; she passed that love of creativity on to her daughters. An excellent seamstress, Lydia could sew anything from a ladies bathing suit to a man’s sport coat, baby doll clothes to elegant evening wear for Barbie’s! She loved fabric and used remnants of her favorites to make beautiful quilts. She also refinished and reupholstered furniture. Of all the joys in her life Lydia found the most joy in her flower gardens. She often brought plants home from her parents’ home in North Carolina and recreated similar gardens. Her yard bloomed with a variety of flowers from spring through fall and she found joy and solace in gardening and the beauty of flowers.

Lydia was a true southern lady and an excellent Southern cook. Her turkey and dressing, gravies, fried chicken, fried apples and cakes made from scratch will be missed. She loved being a foster grandma to a series of baby and toddler boys fostered by her daughter Cynthia, she also loved her grandhorses and granddogs especially Pebbles.

Cynthia and Jeanette wish to thank all of our loving and faithful caregivers who helped so much these last three years, Marylou, Diana, Margaret. And a special thanks to Carolyn who also helped care for our dad and became like a daughter to mom and a sister to us!

Because of her love for flowers, flower arrangements would be welcome.

 Service Information