Peggy Lorene Newman Bowman was born April 26, 1944  to Earl & Norine (Thomas) Newman in Fort Scott, KS.  She left this life on May 11, 2026 in Wichita, KS

Peggy was the middle child of a family of 5 children.  Her two older siblings are her brother Jim and sister Earline.  Her two younger siblings are brothers Ricky and Earl, Jr.   The family spent a lot of time moving around Kansas,  from Fort Scott to Humboldt to ElDorado, and then settling in Wichita when their father Earl was transferred to Wichita,  with the local electric company, K G & E.

Peggy attended Roosevelt Junior High and  Wichita High School East  and left school after her Sophomore year.  She married young,  and by  the time she was 20, she had her first two daughters, Laura & Karen.  They were the light of her life.    That early marriage did not last and she spent quite a few years as a single mom to Laura & Karen.  While it was a difficult time, she did what she could to take care of the girls.

In 1978 she  married Gene Bowman, and added his 3 daughters to her heart, Debbie, Pam and Kelly.  Then, late in life, she and Gene adopted Peggy's great grand daughter, Taryn, and her heart was full with these six girls. Peggy loved her family with everything she had.  The hardest time in her life was when both Karen and Laura passed away far too young, Laura in 2012 at the age of 51 and Karen in 2014 at the age of 52,     We know that she is overjoyed to be with them again.

Peggy loved to cook and bake and decorate the home.  She was a great home maker, and everyone felt welcomed by her when they would visit.

While Peggy was primarly a home maker all of her life.  Once her children were grown, she also worked outside the home.  She spent much of her working career in banking.  She also did some office work, and was a manager at Dillards in Wichita for a while.  She retired in 2005, the year Taryn was born, to once again find her self parenting a daughter.

Peggy and Gene spent most of their lives living in Kansas. They lived in Arkansas City, Kansas, and then moved to the East Coast and lived in New Jersey for a short time.  They returned to Kansas, to move back to the farm Gene was raised on, in Council Grove, Kansas, until 2015 when they moved back to Wichita for the final time.

Peggy will be missed for many things, but most of all for her love of her family, especially her daughters.

Peggy was preceeded in death by her parents, Earl &  Norine, two siblings:  Earl Newman Jr,, & Ricky Newman  Her two daughters,   Laura Vanhook and Karen Snyder.   And son in law's,  Joe Callahan and Mike Shirkey.

Peggy is survived by husband, Gene, Daughters, Taryn Bowman, Debbie Shirkey, Pam (Jack) Mitchell, all of Wichita and Kelly (Billy) Simmons of Indiana, Brother, Jim Newman, of Missouri, sister Earline Anthony of Louisiana &   Son in Law, John Vanhook of Hays.

Grandchildren:  Joshua Snyder, Briawna (Stephen) Hartmann, Austin (Nicole) Callahan, Kalyn (Adrian) Waller, Shawntel (Jared) Evans, Isaac Simmons.
Great Grandchildren:  Mackenna Johnson, Tierney Snyder-Hewitt, Joshua & Noah Hartmann

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the American Cancer Society, in memory of her daughter, Laura Vanhook, who passed of cancer in 2012.

There will be a viewing, Thursday May 14th at 10:00 am at Baker Funeral Home, 6100 E Central, followed by a Graveside Service, 11:30 am,  at Greenwood Cemetery, 6231 W 47th Street South.  All are welcome.  You can greet the family at the cemetery.