Harlem Valley Times (Taconic Newspapers)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Page B8
(very blurry and hard to read - I separated it into paragraphs to make it easier to read as the original was just one big block of text.)

Margaret Bowman

Maggy Bowman, 91, a Wabasso, FL resident, died peacefully in her sleep on Feb. 8, 2006. Born in Rhinebeck on March 13, 1914, she was the daughter of Ethan A. and Alice Traver Coon. She was a graduate of Rhinebeck High School and Elmira College.

Best known for her advocacy for our natural environment, Maggy's efforts in the areas of preservation, conservation and education still benefit us today. She was a past Indian River County (Florida?) Commissioner serving from 1983 through 1992 and was the second woman to be elected to the position. Prior to that she served on the IRC? Planning and Zoning Commission from 1980 through her appointment to the Board of County Commissioners.

Maggy was a veteran, having served in the Women's Army Corp (WAC) during World War II. She was in the first WAC group to enter France serving as a cryptographic tech encoding and decoding messages at the headquarters. She also served in Frankfurt, as the front moved into Germany. Other occupations included teaching at schools for the deaf in Iowa and in Ohio, buyer at B. Altman in New York City and floral designer/shop manager at E. A. Coon & Co. florist, a business started by her father.

She was a charter member of the Pelican Island Audubon Society and a president emeritus. She also served on the Board of Directors of Florida Audubon. She was an avid birder with over 600 species on her lifetime list. Understanding the need to educate the public about the importance of our natural resources and the need to conserve them, Maggy was a proponent of building a nature center. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) of Vero Beach, FL and served on its Board once it was chartered. Other organizations that benefited from her leadership are Marine Resources Council, Friends of Saint Sebastian River, Pelican Island Preservation Society, Laura Riding Jackson House Foundation, NOW, and League of Women Voters.

Survivors include her niece, Donna (Tom) Anderson and Libby Anderson of Vero Beach, FL; nephew, James (Judy) Closs? of Rhinebeck; sister, Catherine Rhoades of Scottsdale, Ariz. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband John M. Bowman, a former postmaster in Clinton Corners, and her sister Eleanor T. Closs?

There will be no services as she donated her body to a medical college in Miami for research purposes. Interment will be at a later date in the Rhinebeck Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Pelican Island Audubon Society, PO Box 1833, Vero Beach, FL 32960? or ELC, 255 Live Oak Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963.

Margaret C Bowman