Betty Janiece Oltman Bowen
March 15, 1939 - August 14, 2024
Betty Janiece Oltman Bowen, 85, passed away after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by her family, on August 14, 2024, in Granbury, Texas. Betty was born on March 15, 1939 in Imperial, Nebraska, the sixth of eight children, to George and Lois (Wine) Oltman. She grew up with five brothers (Dale, Berwyn, Marlo, Dwight, and David) and two sisters (Eileen and Karen).
Betty graduated from Chase County High School in Imperial, Nebraska in 1957 and went on to earn a degree in elementary education from McPherson College in 1962. Betty married Arlo Bowen on August 28, 1962 in Enders, Nebraska. She taught kindergarten through eighth grade in a two-room schoolhouse in Keeline, Wyoming, until the couple's first child, Dirk, was born in 1965, followed by two daughters, Kim and Traci. The family lived for 26 years on a 7,700-acre cattle ranch near Keeline.
During her school years, Betty was best known for her perfect pitch, and she sang in trios and acapella choirs, played the clarinet and was a cheerleader. She met her husband, Arlo Bowen, at McPherson College. Once they were married and living on the ranch, Betty became an avid walker and would walk miles on the ranch road daily. She hated snakes and made many a rattlesnake die for the transgressions of the one who bit and nearly killed her when she was seven. She was known as a wonderful cook, especially famous for her desserts she would bring to potlucks and brandings. Though she never pursued a career, she held several jobs throughout the years, to include secretary for the Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Illinois, to a secretary for the Soil Conservation Service in Lusk, Wyoming, to a frequent substitute teacher, and bookkeeper for The Other Guys car dealership in Wheatland, Wyoming. She even spent a summer as a flagger for road construction to earn money to remodel the family's old farmhouse.
After Arlo and Betty moved to Granbury, Texas, in 2000, she provided childcare for Cassidy. Soon other mothers asked her to keep their babies as well. She became a surrogate grandmother to three other baby girls over the next several years.
Anyone who knew her, knew that Betty's life was completely devoted to her family, and she loved them fiercely.
Betty is survived by her husband, Arlo Bowen of Granbury; Dirk Bowen (Erica) of Anchorage, Alaska; Kim Van Gundy (Brian) of Prole, Iowa; Traci Zimmerlee (Rich) of Idaho City, Idaho; granddaughter Cassidy Bowen Weaver of Arlington, Texas, granddaughter Alyvia Van Gundy of Prole, Iowa; grandchildren Jackson and Caylen Bowen of Anchorage, Alaska; sisters Eileen Smith (Sid) and Karen Pickering; sisters-in-law Judy Morris (Jerry), Frances Oltman, Sherri Sidles-Oltman and Shirley Oltman.
Betty is preceded in death by her parents George and Lois Oltman; brothers David, Dale, Marlo, Berwyn and Dwight Oltman.
The service for Betty Bowen will be held on Saturday, September 28 at 1 p.m. at Triple Cross Cowboy Church in Granbury, Texas.
