Lorraine Bluford Bowman “Boots” Strong
Lorraine Bluford Bowman “Boots” Strong
Lorraine Bluford Bowman “Boots”
Strong, passed away Sunday evening, September 4, 2011 in Boise, ID.
She was born October 3, 1924 in Berea, KY, as the third daughter of Bess Allen
McGuire Bowman and George Owen Bowman. Two sisters had preceded her birth,
Carolyn and Betty Bowman, and her brother, Don Bowman, was the fourth and final
child.
By the time Lorraine was two years old, she had been tagged with
the nickname “Boots” or “Bootsie”, and it stuck with her for the remainder of
her life. She also picked up the name “Toadie Frazzle” when she was little, but
that name did not outlast her elementary years.
When Boots was two, her whole family moved to Lamar, Colorado
where she resided until she graduated from Lamar Union High School in May of
1942. After graduation from high school, Boots went to college at the
University of Kentucky for one year, and then decided to do her part to support
the War Effort (WWII), and she joined the Waves (Navy). Boots was stationed at
the US Naval and Training Center in Shoemaker, CA, and was attached to the
Provost Marshall's Office where she used her 140 wpm shorthand speed to record
and transcribe military legal proceedings. After WWII ended, all USNR were
discharged, and Boots military career ended. Boots always considered her
service years as the highlight of her life, and told many stories of her
adventures in the Navy.
Boots married Leslie Emerson Strong “Red” on January 20, 1948. She
gave birth to a daughter, Lorrie (Strong) Byerly and a son Robert “Bob” Strong.
She continued to work in the legal field until late in life, when she went to
work for the US Department of Labor. Boots was an active participant in the
Lakewood Baptist Church in Lakewood, CO and made many close friends there.
Boots was a good mom, good worker, good pianist and good dancer. Her life was
spent in service to others.
Boots is survived by her sister, Betty Lipscomb, residing in
Pinetop, AZ; her brother, Don Bowman, formerly of Lamar, CO; her daughter and
son-in-law, Lorrie and Jim Byerly, residing in Boise, ID; her son and daughter-in-law,
Robert “Bob” and Esther Strong, residing in Sun City, AZ; her grandchildren,
Dan Strong and his wife, Vicki Maestas, Nathan Byerly, Julie Strong and Jesse
Byerly, and 5 great grandchildren, Austin Byerly, Rueben Strong, Dominic
Strong, Robert Strong, and Daniel Strong, Jr.
Funeral services for Lorraine will be held at 9:30 a.m., Friday,
September 9, 2011 at the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel. A committal service with military honors will
be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. A viewing will be held and her family will
greet friends from 7:00 until 8:00 p.m. today, (Thursday) at the Alden-Waggoner
Funeral Chapel.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Lorraine Bluford Bowman “Boots” Strong, please visit our flower store.
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