Josephine Bowers

Josephine Betty (Ponton) Bowers, age 88, of Sheridan, Michigan, formerly of Kankakee, Illinois, passed away Friday, December 23, 2022 at Mission Point of Greenville. The daughter of Emile Alfred & Myrtle Marie (Hartman) Ponton, she was born on April 2, 1934 in Chebanse, Illinois, where she grew up and graduated high school. On Jan. 22, 1955, in Chebanse, Illinois, she married James Keith Bowers and together they raised two children and would have celebrated 68 years of marriage in 2023. A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Josephine also worked outside the home as a waitress, cleaning houses, and as a school bus driver -- a job she truly enjoyed and she delighted in spending time with the children on the bus. She enjoyed movies (especially musicals), listening to music, and reading, much preferring novels by Zane Grey and Danielle Steele. She was preceded in death by her parents; infant brother Alfred, and sister Pauline Leslie. Her sister, Genevieve White, passed away less than a week after Josephine. Surviving are her husband, James Keith "Skip" Bowers; their children, James Kevin & Carol Bowers, and Jeanette & Mark Fritz; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; a sister, Harriet & Ronald Harwood; two brothers, Alfred Ponton Sr and Leo Ponton; and several nieces and nephews. Surviving, also, are brother-in-law Ronald Bowers and his wife Dolores of Watseka, IL; Josephine's friend and former daughter-in-law Lisa (Weerts) Bowers of Herscher, IL. A celebration of life will be held at a later date, with final interment at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Kankakee, Illinois. Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Christiansen's Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, Greenville, Michigan 616-754-5638. 616-754-5638 To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Josephine Bowers, please visit our flower store.