March 16, 1929 – April 1, 2023
Alice Bernell Harris Bowles left us to be with her Lord and Savior on April 1, 2023. She was 94 years young. She was a longstanding member of the First Baptist Church, Harrison Street, Petersburg, and was faithfully engaged in the weekly prayer call with her pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Tillman.
It is a cherished gift from God when the wisdom and grace of a mother can be seen in the smiles of her grandchildren and in those of the people whose lives’ she has touched.
She loved games shows, especially those with Steve Harvey, and tried never to miss The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. Plus, she was a serious sports fan, watching nightly basketball and always supporting her Dallas Cowboys.
Alice graduated from Peabody High School in Petersburg, Virginia, and married her lifelong sweetheart, Maurice Bowles, shortly before his deployment during the Korean War.
While waiting for her husband to return from Korea, she worked at the Medical Arts Building as an Elevator Operator. She soon found her calling as a Paraprofessional Educator, and she fervently served the children and community of the Petersburg Public School System for thirty years.
She then retired and devoted her time and energy to being a loving grandmother, and she was an active member of her women’s clubs, Club Vogue and Demiques Club.
Alice is preceded in death by her parents, John and Mary Harris; her sister, Mrs. Ida Chambliss; aunts, Gracie Bell Minter and Ruth Harris Bland, and cousins, John Lee Minter, Lawrence Minter, Joyce Bland and Albert Miles.
Alice is survived by her loving and dedicated husband of 74 years, Maurice Bowles, Sr.; her daughter, Millicent Lassiter (with her husband Bert Lassiter); her son; Maurice Bowles Jr., and nephew; George “Junnie” Chambliss, Jr. She also leaves to cherish her memory, her grandchildren Dawn Bowles, Maurice Bowles III, Joi Bowles, Parris Bowles, Alysia Woronicz (husband Jason), Brian Lassiter (wife Kristin), Stephen Lassiter, and Monique Lassiter, and nine wonderful great grandchildren, Paris Jae Bowles, Major Bowles, Hendrix Blackmon, Seth Woronicz, Britton Lassiter, Kingston Lassiter, Adelaide Lassiter, Finlynn Lassiter, Eli Lassiter, and Aurora Lassiter; a devoted sister-in-law, Mrs. Gloria Dianne Bowles Cooksey; two devoted nieces, Sherri Hobbs and Tanya Cooksey; a devoted daughter-in-law; Ruth Bowles Maclin; a devoted cousin, Edward Matthews; and dearly loved friends, Corean Parker, Bertha Hicks, Margaret Kirby, Jackie Miles, Dee and Sam Johnson and Earthal Bowles.
Alice will be truly missed as a friend, and as matriarch and pillar of her family.
Services will be held 2:00 P.M., Friday, April 7, 2023, at First Baptist Church, 236 Harrison Street, Petersburg, VA, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Tillman, Pastor. The interment to follow at Dinwiddie Memorial Park.
J.M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA, (804) 732-8911, watch the funeral services live online at www.jmwilkersonsince1874.com.
