Elizabeth "Beth" Bowley

Our mother, Elizabeth Mabel Bowley, nee Jones, died peacefully at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home on Thursday, April 24, 2025. She was 101 years old.

Mom was born at home on her parents’ farm near Dropmore, Manitoba, in the Shell River Valley, on July 15, 1923 to Albert Edward (A.E.) Jones and his wife Ruth, nee Atkinson. Beth, as everyone called her, attended school with her three brothers, Edward, Harold and Ivan and twin sister Dorothy in the district of Castleavery – a cold, one mile plus walk in the winter where the first students to arrive had to light the wood stove at the back of the one room schoolhouse.

Tragedy struck in 1929 when our Mom’s mother, and her older brother Edward, were shot and killed by a mentally disturbed hired hand. From then on, all the children had to pitch in to do the housework and help out on the farm. Mom used to talk about their lard sandwiches for lunch, and jumper meat and potatoes for dinner. However, it wasn’t all work and no play. The Jones family were all very musical - A.E. on the fiddle, her brothers and sister on guitar and organ, and Mom on the piano – and they often played at house parties and local dances.

Mom and Dorothy completed Grade 8 at the school, and then finished Grade 10 via correspondence, and despite the fact Mom wanted to continue her studies, she had to go to work on the farm. When she was 16, she left home, first to Yorkton and then to Portage la Prairie. She had a number of jobs – working in a chicken factory plucking chickens, and as a live-in in various homes, doing housework and looking after the children.

In 1947, she married George ‘Dixie’ Prokopetz, a war veteran whom she’d met when she was younger, and they settled down in Roblin, Manitoba to raise a family. She had four children, Jerry, Barry, Kim and Kevin. When Dixie abandoned the family and moved to Winnipeg, our mother was left to raise the four children on her own. With help from the town and working various jobs, Mom did the best she could, and there was always enough food on the table – protein included liver, kidneys, cow’s tongue, and other choice cuts. We kids never complained, leading a rather carefree existence, spending our days outdoors exploring the town and the countryside. Despite her tough life, Mom kept her spirits up – she had lots of friends, and she stayed active, playing baseball in the summer and curling in the winter. She also joined the Women’s Lodge and played the piano on various occasions. Tending a large garden was another of her pastimes that was passed on to her children.

In 1962, Mom married Leonard Allan Bowley, and moved, along with some of the children, to his farm northeast of Binscarth, Manitoba. The next year, they had a daughter, Bernice. Although Mom was familiar with farm life, she felt lonely being eight miles from town. She and Len often drove to Roblin so she could visit her old friends and see her son Barry who was living on the farm of relatives near Roblin.

In 1982, Mom and Len had a new house built in Russell, Manitoba where they lived for several years. In 2006, Len died, and Mom lived on her own in the house until she moved into the local Banner County Court, a seniors’ independent living complex. Mom’s small apartment was often the gathering place for many of the Banner residents and Mom’s friends from the Roblin, Russell and Binscarth area who dropped in to share with Mom a glass of wine, a snack, memories and a few jokes.

Mom was happy there, as she never felt lonely with so many people around, but in 2016, after a number of falls, she could no longer live on her own. We moved her to the Sandy Lake Personal Care Home, where she wandered the halls and made several friends. Then, in 2017, we moved Mom to the St. Norbert Personal Care Home so she could be closer to three of her children. 

As the years passed, Mom eventually lost her mobility – the walker gave way to the wheelchair, but Mom never stopped trying to get up – it just wasn’t in her nature to sit around all day. Even sadder, her mind started to go as well, and all the memories of her youth that she once recounted so vividly gradually dried up. She turned 100 in 2023, but just couldn’t believe it, and vociferously denied that she was a centenarian. When her eyesight and hearing failed her, and she struggled to complete a sentence, she would still manage to say at the end of a visit: “I hope you’re happy.”

Throughout most of her life, our mother was often the life of the party. She loved company, she was a great conversationalist and had a wonderful sense of humour. She made us all laugh with her repertoire of jokes – many of them bawdy and so politically incorrect that you could never tell them in polite society today. She wrote very descriptive letters to her children and friends, she was very curious and read a lot and had a huge collection of Readers’ Digest books: one of the regular entries of the Digest was called ‘Life’s most unforgettable character,’ and that’s how we thought of our mother. Mom regretted that she didn’t get a chance to finish high school and go on to a career, but she lived life to the full despite the circumstances. Throughout her life, as noted, one of Mom’s comforts was working in the garden. One of the highlights of her retirement years occurred when her daughter Bernice took her and Len to Europe - she had an ice cream in a café with a grand piano in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, and got to visit some of the World War One memorials in Belgium.

Our mother outlived all of her siblings and all of her contemporaries, but she will certainly live on in the memories of her children. Left to mourn are her four children – Jerry, Barry, Guy and Bernice – and their spouses and children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, as well as Kevin’s widow and children.

We would like to thank the staff at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home (with a special shout-out to Yunlan) who took such good care of Mom over the past eight years.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at  the St. Norbert Personal Care Home.