Elmer Bowling, 86, of Elizabethton, went home to be with the Lord, on Sunday, October 25, 2015, at Johnson City Medical Center following a brief illness. He was a son of the late Robert and Bessie Scalf Bowling and was born in Carter County. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Lillian Beatrice Isaacs Bowling; a son, Elmer Carroll Bowling; five brothers, Clarence “Buddy” Bowling, Frank Bowling, Glen Bowling, James Bowling and Roy Bowling; and two sisters, Juanita Shepherd and Florence Fortner.
Mr. Bowling was a member of East Side Baptist Church, where he had served as a deacon. He was very active in the Little League and the Babe Ruth League and loved to fish, ski on the lake and loved to bowl. He and his wife loved to take Sunday afternoon drives and he was a faithful husband and loving husband who devoted himself to the care of his wife, Lillian, after she became ill and until her death. He was retired from the Elizabethton Star, where he worked in various capacities for 57 years, culminating in the positions of Editor and Vice-President.
Those left to cherish his memory include a daughter, Lois Younce and her husband, Lynual, Elizabethton; three sons, Dale Bowling, Johnson City, Jackie Bowling and his wife, Tracy, Elizabethton, and Freddie Bowling, Elizabethton; eight grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Several nieces and nephews also survive.
A service to honor the life of Elmer Bowling will be conducted at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 29, in the Chapel of Peace of Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, with Pastor Jeremy Rhoton and Rev. Dr. E. Dwight Hobbs officiating. Music will be under the direction of Harry Reagan and Lynual Younce. The family will receive friends in the funeral home chapel from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, prior to the service. The graveside service and interment will be conducted at 10 a.m. Friday, October 30, at Happy Valley Memorial Park. Active pallbearers will be Dale Bowling Jr., Bradley Younce, Wesley Gilbert, Logan Bowling, Jac Robbins and Jonah Robbins. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of East Side Baptist Church and his friends from the Elizabethton Star. Those wishing to attend are asked to meet the family at the funeral home at 9:15 a.m. Friday to go in procession to the cemetery. Online condolences may be shared with the family at our website, www.tetrickfuneralhome.com.
Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, is serving the Bowling family. Office: (423) 542-2232. Obituary Line: (423) 543-4917.