Kingsley Arnett Bowles was born March 1, 1944. He was the second of four children born to Richard and Frances Bowles (nee Arnett). Kingsley died unexpectedly in his sleep in the early morning of August 10, 2020.

 

You might remember Kingsley as the man with the giant straw hat at Victoria Beach with three little girls in tow. In recent years, you might have noticed a big man riding a small blue and white scooter around town – that was him! You might also recognize him as the friendly man in the Tilly hat, tweed cap, or fur hat at the #68 bus stop who liked to chat with neighbours.

 

Those of you who knew Kingsley well, already know that he was a kind and gentle man with a compassionate and generous spirit. You know that he was out-numbered in a house full of women and thought it was just wonderful. And you know that his love for his family was rivalled only by his dedication to them. His mother called him her ‘ever-present help in times of need’. He was that to her and all of his family and friends.

 

What you may not know is that Kingsley held a Master’s degree in Physics, or that he became a computer programmer before there were computer programmers, because he told his employer, “I can probably figure those out.” You may not know that he never let his family listen to the radio on long car rides, because he thought they could make better music themselves. And, while you would not be surprised, you may not know that when he was a young adult and his father was the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, the official guests he was most interested in were not the political leaders or celebrities, but the authors and the poets. Kingsley was quiet, constant, and steady with a keen mind, a great sense of humour, and a deep interest in people and their stories. He noticed people who needed extra friendship, care, or support, and offered it easily. Kingsley had a unique ability to smooth things over between people thanks to a three part process he passed on to his daughters: listen, consider with compassion, and then listen again.

 

The kind, gentle, and generous eyes through which Kingsley saw the world have now given two others the gift of sight. We are grateful that Kingsley could offer such a fitting parting gift through cornea transplant.

 

Kingsley loved ice cream, and music, and scooter rides. But most of all, Kingsley loved his girls and his grandchildren: his wife of 50 years, Diane (née McNaughton); and his daughters, Noelle (Jonathan Elcomb), Joanna (Patrik Schuermann), and Michelle (Courtney Skinner); grandchildren Alicia, Pascal and Cedric Schuermann, and Claire Elcomb-Bowles. Kingsley will also be lovingly remembered by his siblings Sheldon Bowles (Penny), Maryann Nevile (Dan Bachor), and Bill Bowles (Hollie); as well as his nieces and nephews from the McNaughton, Nevile, Bowles, Bachman, and Hull families.

 

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a family gathering will be held on Monday, August 31, 2020 to inter Kingsley’s ashes beside his parents in the Union Point United Church cemetery. A larger gathering will be planned at a later date. If you wish to do something to remember Kingsley, please talk to someone who seems lonely or extend an act of kindness to a neighbour.