NONA BONDURANT BOWMAN Nov. 21, 1932 – May 18, 2017
Nona Bondurant Bowman passed away peacefully and quickly on May 18, 2017, with her family by her side. After a fall in the lobby of the Mary Deal theater on May 17, she apparently suffered a severe concussion and never regained consciousness. Her passing ended a two-year period of serious intermittent illnesses. Nona is survived by her husband, Charles Daniel Bowman; her son, David Carlton Bowman of Farmington, NM; and her daughter, Brenda Herbert with her husband Patrick Herbert of Raleigh, NC, and their children, Lindsey and Parker.
Nona was born Nona Clair Bondurant on Nov. 21, 1932, in Kirksville, Missouri, to Carl and Louise Bondurant and was their only child. The family moved back to Virginia when she was five; she grew up in Roanoke, VA, and graduated from Radford College in 1955 with her degree in elementary education. Nona met Charlie in her senior year, and they married in 1956. They moved to Durham, NC, and she began her teaching career there while Charlie was in graduate school at Duke University. They lived there for five years where she did graduate work in the summers at Duke University and was offered the position of Elementary Education Supervisor for the Durham City School System. She was the first person to cross a picket line inside a department store to have her purchases checked by an African-American clerk, who, with tears in her eyes, thanked her. She also developed her lifelong love of ACC basketball and never missed a Duke home game.
When Charlie finished school, they decided that they wanted to see more of the world, and so they moved to Livermore, CA, in 1961. Nona continued her teaching in a segregated Hispanic school in Livermore, noting the admiration of Californians for those who traveled to the South in support of ending segregation there while ignoring it in their home town. She taught until the arrival of their children, Brenda (now Brenda Bowman Herbert) and David Carlton Bowman, and found time for civic activity and teaching reading in her home. She also was a part time church secretary and helped to relaunch the United Methodist Church in Livermore. Biking and hiking became her favorite sports with Yosemite being her favorite spot for both. She was elected to the Livermore School Board in 1968 and played a key role in preventing the sprawl of the San Francisco Bay Area into the Livermore Valley and the inevitable school overload from unlimited development.
Family responsibilities for both Nona and Charlie in Virginia and a new job for Charlie took them to Gaithersburg, MD, in 1972. While raising her family she found time for part time teaching of remedial reading to employees of the National Institute of Health and the National Bureau of Standards, and later teaching reading in the Gaithersburg Public School System. She also found time to support the local school with fundraising by organizing the local horse shows. Tennis became her favorite support.
Charlie’s career brought them to Los Alamos in 1982 with Brenda entering college, David entering high school, and Nona teaching reading in Larragoite school in Santa Fe. She was told by the school secretary on the first day, “I’m glad you’re here but don’t try to change anything.” But her principal integrated her into a program with three other teachers, and this was one of her most rewarding experiences in teaching because the principal wanted to change a lot of things, and he succeeded.
The commute to Santa Fe was long, and so after about four years, she was hired into the Los Alamos Schools as a teacher of the gifted. The family had joined the Los Alamos United Church, and she partnered with another member to lead the church education program. She also joined the board of Casa Mesita and helped oversee its operation until state law forced the abandonment of such homes for teenage girls. Soon after came an appointment to the county’s Art in Public Places Board that placed the sculpture garden around the pond and art in several other public spaces. This and other civic activity led to a successful run for County Council, where she served from 2002 to 2010. During her two terms she worked to clean up the town’s neighborhoods, rebuild the county infrastructure, improve recreation opportunities, and strengthen the schools.
Nona traveled broadly with Charlie, including visits and vacations with her grandchildren, Lindsey and Parker. She visited her farm in Virginia throughout her life, transformed it into a delightful place, and considered it a reference point as she moved around the U.S. Nona enjoyed everywhere she lived, but she lived 35 years in Los Alamos and probably loved it the best, as this is where she wanted to be in her senior years.
She had lived a full life and did not fear her passing. She left us quietly and is now in a better place.
Her memorial service will be held at the United Church of Los Alamos on June 17 at 10:30 AM, with ashes interred at the Bethlehem Church of the Brethren Cemetery in Franklin County, VA.