Christine M. Bowman

Christine M. Bowman, the beloved wife of Melvin H. Bowman, passed away at home, Tuesday, January 11, 2022 after a brief illness. They had celebrated their 58th anniversary on December 7, 2021. She was born to the late Michael and Christina Schank Maerz in 1937 in Leibling, Romania.

Fleeing the invading Soviet Army, Christine, her parents, and many siblings along with many ethnic Germans left the village in 1944. After the Allied victory, they were relocated into displaced persons camps in Linz, Austria. The family emigrated to the United States in 1951, where they settled in Lampeter, Pennsylvania. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1955.

She was in the first class to graduate from the new Lampeter-Strasburg High School. Enrolling in the Emil School of Hair Dressing shortly thereafter, she became a successful hairdresser at both Ormond’s and in her own beauty salon with a loyal following. Over the years, Christine and Mel traveled through the eastern United States and loved to take cruises having been to the Caribbean many times as well as Alaska, Australia, and the Mediterranean.

Christine will be known for her love of family and her generous spirit; her beautiful yard; her bountiful garden, whose produce she shared with everyone; her ability to bake a figurative ton of cookies at Christmas, which she gladly shared with all; and particularly the annual Halloween party with its treasure hunt and spook house, which she and Mel hosted for 50 years.

In addition to her husband, Christine is survived by her brothers, Konrad and Martin (Virginia) Maerz, sisters, Marie Snyder (Michael), Margaret Hippey, and Elizabeth Maerz (Keith Staman); many nieces, nephews, and cousins, and her much adored cat, “Katz”.

Predeceasing her was her brother, Michael Maerz; her sisters, Katharine Watson and Eva Possler; brother-in-laws, Nickolaus Possler, Reverend Vernon and his wife, Grace (nee Bowman) Stoop.

Her family wishes to thank Hospice & Community Care for their assistance in Christine’s last days.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend Christine’s Memorial Service at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 500 Pearl Street, Lancaster, PA 17603 on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. with The Rev. Bob Ierien officiating. The family will receive friends at the Church on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until time of service.