Obituary for Edna Vincent (Fournier) Bowman

Edna Vincent (Fournier) Bowman passed away at her home in Kennewick, WA on April 3, 2026. She was 90 years old and was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel King Bowman (1932- 2023) and her two children: daughter Dian Earl Bowman (1952-1972) and son Daniel King Bowman II (1954-1997).

Edna was born July 23, 1935 in Seattle, the daughter of Earl Blanchard Fournier (1908-2003) and Hope Hyacinth (Vincent) Fournier (1896-1994). She spent her first 10 years in Newport, Oregon. She lived in Umatilla and Stanfield until she was 16, attending Stanfield High School and playing the violin and the clarinet. She was in the marching band and marched in the Pendleton Roundup and in Spokane.

Edna married Daniel King Bowman Dec 7, 1951 in Walla Walla, Washington. She was 16 and Dan was 19. They were married for 71 years and lived in the Columbia Basin (Wishram, Burbank, Pasco & Kennewick) over 70 years.

In the 1960's she was a beautician. Edna appreciated fashion and sewed many outfits for herself and her family. She especially had an eye for shoes. She also got many compliments on her fashionable eyeglasses.

Edna did much cooking and canning, with the produce coming from their bountiful vegetable garden and orchard every year. Edna especially enjoyed flowers, both in the many she grew and the cut flowers she had in her home. Dan and Edna had an oasis in their backyard and loved spending time together on their patio swing admiring the fruits of their labors.

Edna liked to decorate her home for all the seasons and holidays. She and Dan hosted many family and neighborhood gatherings, including 4th of July barbeques and fall wiener roasts. She considered herself a homebody and most happy at home.

Dan and Edna were dedicated hikers, and she enjoyed exploring new places, including hiking the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington. Edna learned to love hunting. She could dress out an elk or deer in the field and she and Dan would haul it out on packboards on their motorcycles. In this fashion, they supplied their family.

In her 40's, Edna returned to school and earned her electrical engineering degree. She worked at Hanford nuclear power plant and was an active member in the Society of Women Engineers, and she enjoyed traveling to multiple events with the organization. She also participated in a women's financial investment group. After about 10 years at Hanford, she took an early retirement simultaneously with Dan, who also worked there.

After retirement Edna and Dan traveled to Thailand, China and Alaska, among other places. They did much camping in their RV, including annual Bowman family campouts. She loved going to her niece Tori's cabin at Priest Lake, Idaho for her birthday, sitting on the dock and watching the beautiful view.

Edna is survived by her sister Jane Fournier, formerly of San Diego, but lately her caregiver the last few years of her life; niece Tori and her husband Ron Nicklas of Priest Lake, Idaho, and nephew Dewey and his wife Gina Hoiland of Athol, Idaho. She is beloved by numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

In lieu of a service, Edna's wishes were that those who loved her remember her life in their own way. She will be buried at Mueller's Desert Lawn Memorial Park in Kennewick along with her husband and children.