Bower, Bernard Beuford

Bernard Beuford Bower, 55, died Friday, Dec. 17, 2010, at the Keokuk County Health Center, Sigourney. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, North English, the Rev. Joseph Roost will preside. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, with a wake service at 7 p.m., at the Powell Funeral Home, North English. Burial will be in St. Patrick Little Creek Cemetery, rural Kinross.

He is survived by his wife, Elaine of Kinross; a daughter, Erin Bower of Pella; sisters, Patricia Wade of Iowa City, and Rita Barnett of Granbury, Texas; and brothers, Charles Bower of Riverside, Ed Bower of Williamsburg, and Bruce Bower of Michigan.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Bernard Beuford Bower was born on Oct. 16, 1955, in Sigourney, Iowa, the son of Frederick and Edith Johnston Bower. He attended school in North English and Keota, before graduating from English Valleys High School in North English in 1973. He was united in marriage to Elaine Skoglund in Parkers Prairie, Minn., on April 20, 1985. They lived a short time in Eden Prairie, Minn., Hawaii, Keota, then back to Kinross in 1996. Bernie worked as a drywall installer for many years and most recently as a delivery driver. In his younger years, Bernie played rugby and helped start the Iowa City Club.

He loved music, electronic gadgets and technology, designing model train setups and watching sports, especially the Minnesota Vikings and Twins.

A memorial fund has been established for the North Keokuk County QRS and Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research.

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