SHARON BOWKER

(1946 - 2025)

Sharon Kay Bowker, 79, of Flagstaff, Arizona, died at home on September 28, 2025 of cancer. She was a loving family member who lived abroad, toured Europe with her husband Donald, and later relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada where they adopted and raised their son Matthew.

She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Donald and Dorothy Hartman, the oldest of 5 children. She attended Sacred Heart Elementary School and Arkansas City High School in Arkansas City, Kansas, before obtaining her credentials to become an X-ray technician at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas.

She married Donald Bowker, a high school boyfriend, and accompanied him on his US Army deployment to Germany, where they traveled extensively. Perhaps most memorable was crossing into East Berlin via Checkpoint Charlie at the height of the cold war. After Don's discharge, they visited Las Vegas and found it to be their home for multiple decades, surrounded by family and surrogate family. Sharon pursued a career as an X-ray technician and later as a medical insurance billing specialist until retirement. Sharon and Don moved back to Arkansas City for over a decade, becoming prominent figures in the lives of their nieces' and nephews' children. Two years ago, they moved to Flagstaff, Arizona to be close to their son Matthew and daughter-in-law Becky, joining a community for seniors. Sharon and Don remained married for 60 years until the day Sharon passed.

Everyone who knew Sharon knew how much she loved Christmas and going to the movies. She amassed an impressive collection of holiday decorations including hundreds of Christmas ornaments displayed on multiple Christmas trees. Sharon never got to visit Disneyland as a child and loved to visit as an adult. She and Matthew bonded over their shared enjoyment of science fiction and fantasy films. Her interests intertwined in her favorite movie: "A Christmas Story".

Sharon will be remembered as a good, kind and loving mother to her son, a life partner and co-adventurer to her husband, "bonus mother" for the children of friends and family members, a big sister and a lifelong friend. She will be missed daily, and we won't forget her. Sharon was preceded in death by Donald Hartman (father), Dorothy Hartman (mother), Jim Hartman (brother), and Tom Hartman (brother), and is survived by Donald Bowker (husband), Matthew Bowker (son), Kathy Braungart (sister), and Marcia Stultz (sister).

A rosary and memorial mass will be held October 29, 2025 at San Francisco De Asis church beginning at 10:00 A.M. in Flagstaff, Arizona.