Mary Jean Koblentz – Bowen, 86, died November 9, 2010. She had been ill for two months.
Born to Irvine R. and Rebecca (Burtsfield) Monnette, she was raised in Scott Township on the family farm.
She was a member of the Kirkpatrick girls’ basketball team that won the 1940 countywide championship. She was a 1942 graduate of Marion Harding High School, and received training at Mt. Carmel School of Nursing in Columbus.
A resident of Cleveland and Shaker Heights, Ohio, for 30 years, she returned to Marion in 1978, and began working with the Ohio Commission on Aging. She was a charter member Ohio District Five Area Agency on Aging and a member of Area Agency Hall of Fame. She was also a past Marion County Senior Citizen of the year award recipient.
Though raised in the Methodist-Episcopal faith, she converted and embraced Reformed Judaism. Along with her former husband Marvin A. Koblentz, she was a charter member in the establishment of the Brith Emeth Congregation, and served as the long-time President of the Brith Emeth Sisterhood body.
She was a contract bridge player; it was her favorite pastime.
She was also active in the Col. William Hendrick’s Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a member of First Families of Marion County.
Mrs. Koblentz-Bowen was preceded in death by her late husband, James E. Bowen; her parents, sister, Harriet Ann Ludwig, and brother, John E. Monnette. She is survived by her son, Stuart J. Koblentz, and son-in-law, Erik B. Haley; two brothers: Paul I. Monnette of Florida, and Damon E. Monnette of Marion; a brother-in-law, Robert C. (Marilyn) Ludwig of Marion; and a niece, Betty Monnette of Marion who developed a special bond with Mary Jean; nieces and nephews, and many friends. She is also survived by her beloved “grand-dog” Rocky.
Her family would like to thank the staff of Marion General Hospital’s four-south unit for her outstanding care, and their incredible support in her final hours.
Friends may call from 2 – 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 14, at the Denzer-Farison-Hottinger & Snyder Funeral Home, 360 E. Center St., Marion. Funeral Services will be held there on Monday, at 11:00 a.m. Cremains to be interred at Marion Cemetery at a later date.
It was her wish that all flowers be omitted; instead she preferred that those monies be donated to the Marion Area Genealogical Society or the Marion County Historical Society Operating Fund so they could provide outreach to the Marion community, they may be sent to the care of the funeral home.
For those wishing to express your condolences to her family, you may do so online by visiting www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
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