Eva M. Bowser

Eva M. Bowser, retired Pittsburgh Biology schoolteacher, a long- time resident of Friendship Village, died Thursday, April, 6th, 2023 at Friendship Village.  Eva was born May31, 1927, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daughter of the late Kenneth J. Bowser and Helen Lucy Bowser. Eva was preceded in death by her brother Kenneth James Bowser, and her long-time companion, Agnes J. McKain.  She is survived by her nephew Charles Bowser, and his children, Jonathan, Charles,  and Rachel, her sister-in-law Edith Preisach, her cousin Deborah Schiffhauer, her good friends Peggy & Jeff Markanich, and J.J. Bosley.

She was a 1946 graduate of Westinghouse High School, and received her BS in 1950 from the Pennsylvania College for Women, now Chatham University.  Eva worked as aMedical Technologist at Columbia Hospital for 12 years.  Then she began teaching Biology at Pittsburgh’s South Hills High School, while she earned her Masters degree in Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967.  Evaretired from teaching in 1989 after 27 years.  

Since retiring, she blossomed into an accomplished artist. Her watercolor “Rockport Lighthouse” was chosen by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging to hang in their headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Pennsylvania Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging, chose 3 of her works, among 35 selected to hang in their headquarters in Mechanicsburg, PA. For years she supervised the annual art exhibit at Friendship Village.  Writing poetry was another of her passions.  One of her poems was included in the 1998 National Library of Poetry.  Eva also wrote and illustrated two published children’s books: “The Frog” and “The Snail.”    

Her friendships and generosity benefited the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Missouri where shedonated an inherited collection of archery-related ivory carvings and several ancient Roman lamps.

Over the years, many caregivers enabled Eva to remain in her independent living apartment where she continued her sketching and art work.  The family wishes to thank the many Friendship Village employees and Synergy caregivers for their years of assistance and devotion to Eva.