Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Colombie britanique for funeral details
Deborah Ann Bowers
1953-08-12 to 2024-11-24
Deborah (“Deb”) Ann Bowers died of a host of concurrent ailments (Chronic Kidney Disease, pulmonary fibrosis, heart failure), all made worse by “brittle” Type 1 Diabetes (diagnosed in early adulthood) and challenges like recurring depression and mild bi-polar disorder. In the end, it was a massive heart attack that carried her off at 8:14 am on Sunday, November 24.
That’s how she died. But Deb’s life was so much more than that.
Deb was born in the summer of 1953 into a working class Quebecois/Irish family in Montreal’s Verdun district that included mother Lorraine Aubrey (nee Chabot), father Thomas (later estranged from the family) and older brothers Garry (later beloved life partner of Jeff Richstone) and Bryan. Also greatly loved and routinely in her life at this time were grandmother and grandfather Chabot. There was much love, but also family tragedy occasioned by her father’s alcoholism and consequent violent outbursts which ultimately led to his death.
Deb grew up smart, strong-willed, independent and determined. She also grew up beautiful, with an infectious laugh and a beaming smile.
Deb had her first child (son Jeremy Cristin, d. 2024-07-01) in 1969. A little while later she left school, family, Montreal and Quebec, moving west all the way to BC where she settled in the Lower Mainland, meeting and marrying David March.
But then she met, and fell in love with Todd Thoreau. Their daughter, Carice, was born in 1975. Tragically, Todd died shortly thereafter.
Deb took Carice and moved to a collective farm near Armstrong, BC, then to a collective farm near Onoway, Alberta. She then met and married David Quigley – a marriage she soon left – moving to Edmonton to do so. After a few years, Deb and her two children moved into the Sundance Housing Co-op with Blair Redlin. She and Blair were together until Blair left for Vancouver. While in Edmonton, Deb earned an Early Childhood Education certificate and worked with kids with special needs and other childcare programs. She also became increasingly involved with the Alberta NDP and wound up managing the successful constituency campaign of Pam Barrett in the historic breakthrough election of 1986.
Two years later, close friend Ross Harvey was elected to Parliament and hired Deb as his Constituency Assistant. Characteristically, she threw herself into the work, helping constituents with all sorts of problems and thereby became something of a lay expert in the immigration law and procedures of the day.
By 1989, Deb and Ross were living together in a co-op housing unit (#1) of the Sundance Housing Co-op. They were together until her death.
Their first child, daughter Connor Gwendolyn Griffin (Harvey), was born 8 weeks premature at the end of 1990; she lived only two weeks. Their second child, son Isaac Hugh Arther (Harvey), was born in 1994.
Deb, Ross and Isaac moved from Edmonton to Castlegar and then to the Lower Mainland in 1996/97. There Deb pursued several lines of work, including co-op housing administration and animal welfare work (the latter with the BC SPCA). They retired to Castlegar in 2018.
Carice and Isaac and Ross were all at Deb’s bedside when she died.
Deb was a socialist, a humanist and an agnostic-cum-atheist. She despised injustice and violence (Israel’s genocidal slaughters in Gaza were for her a particular horror), and loved reading, gardening, children, art, music, cats, dogs, horses and family. Deb loved life, and was a force to be reckoned with. Very few who encountered her during her life will not mourn her passing.
Sunday November 24th 2024
Death notice for the town of: Castlegar, Province: Colombie britanique
death notice Deborah Ann Bowers Sunday November 24th 2024
obituaries notice Deborah Ann Bowers Sunday November 24th 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Deborah Ann Bowers Sunday November 24th 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
