Edward Dean Bowen

Edward “Ed” Dean Bowen passed peacefully on to the next plane on 3/17/2023 at the St. Cloud VA Community Care Center.

Ed was born and raised in the Tri-Cities, WA, the second of nine siblings. At the age of 16, Ed sustained injuries in a farming accident, from which he was not expected to survive. Despite the odds being against him, he beat them all, and this would not be the last time. Ed went on to graduate from Kennewick High, and at the age of 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps where he served as a helicopter mechanic during the Vietnam War. Two years after receiving his honorable discharge and returning to the Tri-Cities, Ed was in a motorcycle accident and sustained injuries that he again was not expected to survive. And yet again, he beat all odds.

Ed eventually moved to Minnesota where he would become a fixture of St. Paul’s West Side, amassing numerous friends and acquaintances while holding court outside Jerabek’s New Bohemian. In the words of one person who knew him in passing, “His assuring presence was always felt…it always felt like more than enough the way he’d fill up the space by just being himself…. Moving as though time was nothing but a mere concept conceived by humans… time was timeless with him.”.

In true Ed fashion he beat the odds once more, fiercely living while battling pancreatic cancer for twelve months following his initial diagnosis.

Ed loved spending time with friends and family. His pride and joy were his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and Mariah.

Ed is preceded in death by his father (Donald), mother (Billie), brothers (Willie and Jonathan), and sister (Cindy). He is survived by his son (Troy), grandchildren and great-grandchildren, sisters (Donna and Lori), brothers (Howard, Richard, Ralph, and William), his closest friend Lucy, and her daughter Mariah.

He left an impression on just about everyone he encountered, and he will live on happily in these shared impressions and memories.

Interment with military honors will take place at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN

Love you…Love you more…Love you most.

Arrangements entrusted to SUMMIT Funeral & Cremation

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