Roseanne Elaine Bowen

Roseanne Elaine Bowen passed away peacefully at her home on June 01, 2023, after an extended illness. She was born on May 13, 1957, in Carrollton, Georgia. She moved with her family to Sandy Springs, GA and then to Augusta, GA. She later lived in Orangeburg, SC, Baltimore, MD and North Augusta, SC before returning to Augusta. Roseanne was the daughter of the late Dr. Rosemary Burpee Selby, PhD of Augusta, Georgia and the late Dr. John Latham Bowen, MD of Griffin, Georgia.

After graduating from high school, Roseanne moved to Maryland and attended the University of Maryland, in pursuit of her bachelor’s degree. In addition to her academic endeavors, she dedicated herself to her first career as a swimming instructor, a passion which she continued throughout her life. She taught many hundreds of children (and quite a few adults as well) to swim over the years in Maryland, South Carolina and her home state of Georgia. She was well known and well-loved for her ability to successfully teach even the most reticent or fearful students to become confident and capable swimmers. She was quite an accomplished athlete herself in her younger years, swimming on the Augusta Country Club swim team and with The Augusta Swim League. She also enjoyed water skiing and sky diving. She performed over 150 sky dives over the years.

In the late eighties, Roseanne decided to go back to college to pursue a degree in nursing. She graduated from the Medical College of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. For the next three decades she worked in numerous specialties including Pediatrics, Labor and Delivery, Oncology, Geriatrics and Hospice care. She was incredibly committed to providing the highest degree of care and compassion to her patients and made certain that they knew they were in capable hands. Her most recent employment was with St. Joseph Hospice, LLC, where she forged fulfilling relationships with her co-workers and the patients to whom she attended. She retired in 2021 after beginning to experience health concerns.

Roseanne was a prolific communicator, and devoutly maintained contact with family and friends through phone calls, letters and cards. She never missed an opportunity to send greetings – whether for holidays, birthdays, weddings, graduations, baptisms, or just a special occasion in a loved one’s life. Gift giving was her love language, and she showered family and friends with sometimes elegant and oftentimes eclectic treasures. She prided herself on paying attention to what each individual was fond of or interested in, and truly enjoyed seeing the happiness on the face of the recipient when she delivered the perfect item for that individual.

Although Roseanne never had children of her own, she treasured her nieces and nephews, whom she loved with all of her heart. Of course, she taught all of them to swim! She spent as much time with them as possible. She loved visiting those who lived out of town and she was ever-present in the lives of those with whom she shared a home town, particularly the youngest two (Meg and William), who were a great comfort to her during her illness. They all loved their “Aunt San”, and enjoyed a close and loving relationship with her. Roseanne also loved her canine and feline family. She had many pets over her lifetime, and she took great pleasure in their companionship. She will most certainly be missed by her kitty “Clementine”, who was her most recent furbaby.

Roseanne was predeceased by her parents and by her younger sister, Sara Margaret Bowen, PhD. She is survived by two sisters: Rachel Bowen Caulder (Lee), of Marion, SC, and Libby Bowen Macuch (Bill), of Augusta, GA, and her nieces and nephews; Sara Bean, Sean Bean (Ashley), Meg Macuch, William Macuch, Elizabeth Mendoza (Michael), Emma Grey Wall (Charlie), and Ben Macuch, as well as several grand nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the physicians and nurses at Doctor’s Hospital, who treated and cared for Roseanne over the last two years. We would also like to extend special recognition to her neighbors Debbie and David Banks, who were helpful and kind to Roseanne for many years, and to Mrs. Anita Dunson, who was not only a caregiver, but also a devoted friend to Roseanne during the time of her physical disability and illness.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, June 6th, at noon, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, with the Reverend Terri Degenhardt officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at 11:00 am in the church parish hall. Following the service, interment will be held at Westover Memorial Park, 2601 Wheeler Road, Augusta, GA 30904. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 3321 Wheeler Road, Augusta, GA 30909.