Donald Gene Bowdish

28 October 1931–17 August 1979 (Age 47)
Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, United States

The Life Summary of Donald Gene

When Donald Gene Bowdish was born on 28 October 1931, in Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, United States, his father, Thomas Earl Bowdish, was 36 and his mother, Veona Isola Munden, was 37. He married Betty Lou Smith on 15 November 1948, in Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, United States. He lived in Midland Election Precinct, Pierce, Washington, United States in 1940. He died on 17 August 1979, at the age of 47, and was buried in Smith River, Del Norte, California, United States.

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Family Time Line

Donald Gene Bowdish
1931–1979
Betty Lou Smith
1933–1989
Marriage: 15 November 1948

Spouse and Children

Parents and Siblings

Siblings

(9)

+4 More Children

World Events (8)

1932
Age 1
Amelia Earhart completes first solo nonstop transatlantic flight by a woman.
1934 · Alcatraz Island Becomes Federal Penitentiary
Age 3
Alcatraz Island officially became Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on August 11, 1934. The island is situated in the middle of frigid water and strong currents of the San Francisco Bay, which deemed it virtually inescapable. Alcatraz became known as the toughest prison in America and was seen as a “last resort prison.” Therefore, Alcatraz housed some of America’s most notorious prisoners such as Al Capone and Robert Franklin Stroud. Due to the exorbitant cost of running the prison, and the deterioration of the buildings due to salt spray, Alcatraz Island closed as a penitentiary on March 21, 1963. 
1944 · The G.I Bill
Age 13
The G.I. Bill was a law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans that were on active duty during the war and weren't dishonorably discharged. The goal was to provide rewards for all World War II veterans. The act avoided life insurance policy payouts because of political distress caused after the end of World War I. But the Benefits that were included were: Dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college or vocational/technical school, low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. By the mid-1950s, around 7.8 million veterans used the G.I. Bill education benefits.

Name Meaning

Probably an altered form of the English surname Bowditch . Alternatively, it could be Americanized spelling of the eastern German family name Baudisch, from the Old Slavic stem buditi ‘to wake’.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

Bowditch

Sources (4)

  • Donald Bowdish in household of Thomas Bowdish, "United States Census, 1940"
  • Donald Gene Bowdish, "California Death Index, 1940-1997"
  • Donald Gene Bowdish, "Find A Grave Index"

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