Delbert Dale Bowlin

Delbert Dale Bowlin, “Dale” as his friends knew him, was born on July 28, 1936, in a tent near Apple Valley, Idaho, and passed away October 10, 2022, at 86, in Berryville, Arkansas.

As 1936 was the height of the depression, his father, Walter Delbert Bowlin, found work with the CCC and WPA and was working on a WPA project riprapping the Boise River when he was born. His father (Walter) and mother (Faye) were born and married in the Mountain Grove, Missouri area (Vanzandt/Stony Point). The family moved back and forth from Idaho to Missouri several times before returning permanently to the Parma, Idaho, area in 1943. During his junior year in high school, they lived in a house near the railroad tracks in Parma, and that is when his love of railroading began. He attended the Nampa Business College in 1954 to gain the skills he would need to work for the railroad. He used to hang around the depot in Parma, talking to the agent who recommended him to the Chief Dispatcher, and he went to work with the Union Pacific Railroad in 1955. He worked for the railroad in many positions for 42 years until retiring in 1997.

He was drafted into the army in 1959, served for two years in Hawaii, and then returned to work for the railroad. He was working in Ashton, Idaho, when he met and married Jill Abegglen in 1962 in St. Anthony, Idaho. She had a 2-year-old son Tracy of Pocatello, Idaho. They moved to Idaho Falls and lived there until 1988, when the railroad moved him to Omaha. His son, Bruce of Green Forest was born in 1964. He was the president of the Union Pacific Old Timers Club in 1985.

After retiring, they built a home in Green Forest, where he was very active in the Methodist Church in Green Forest, holding many positions. In 1998 he joined the Berryville Rotary Club, where he was president from 20012002, was awarded Rotarian of the Year in 2005, was a Paul Harris Fellow, and was very active in the Rotary events in Berryville until very recently.

Dale was a passionate camper and hiker and loved fishing. He was a humble servant to many charitable organizations over his life and treated all with compassion and understanding. He is survived by his two children, Tracy and Bruce, and two brothers, Donald and Bobby, of Boise, Idaho. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Louise of Parma and Letha of Bellingham, Washington.

There will be a memorial service at the Green Forest Methodist Church at 1:00 p.m. Friday, October 21. In place of flowers, the family requests donations to the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank of the Ozarks. Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson Funeral Services. Online condolences may be sent to the family at nelsonfuneral.com