June 24, 1915 – August 25, 2011
Ada was born in the summer of 1915 at “The Forks” (East Barriere). She was the sixth of eight children born to Hector and Myrtle MacDougall, and the last surviving sibling. For most of Ada’s 96 years she lived and farmed in the North Thompson region.
On Valentine’s Day in 1936 Ada married Lloyd Bowden in Clearwater. Ada and Lloyd farmed for a couple of years in Valemount, where they welcomed their son Frank. By 1939 they were working the farm in Darfield where Lloyd was raised. In the next few years daughters Margaret and Elsie were born. Ada grew a large vegetable garden and enjoyed canning much of the produce as well as fruit, meat and fish. She took great pride in keeping her root cellar well stocked. She also loved her many animals – especially her cows.
Early in 1976, daughter Elsie returned to the farm with her husband Wayne Loewen and their four children. Lloyd passed away in June of that year. Ada and Wayne ran the farm together until Wayne’s death in 2003. As Ada’s eyesight declined in recent years, she relied on her grandson Dwayne for day-to-day companionship and care. As Ada wished, she passed away peacefully at home on her farm.
Ada was also pre-deceased by daughter Elsie and daughter-in-law Joey. Ada is survived by her son Frank, daughter Margaret (George) Proppe, 16 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren, 9 great, great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
A gathering to celebrate Ada’s life will be held on September 24th, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at the Pentecostal Christian Life Assembly in Barriere, B.C. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice.