First and foremost, my sincerest condolences to Mrs. Bowman and all of the Bowman family.  You all will be in my thoughts and prayers for many months to come.  God’s blessings and God’s piece be with each and everyone of you.

As has been said here already the welcome we received in Princeton was amazing.  5 strangers (maybe we were just strange...) ride onto a farm in western IL and are welcomed by family like we were family.

Unlike many others, written words don’t come quickly for me.  I have many emotions and thoughts that require assembly.  Last night I took the digital equivalent of pen to paper and wrote my thoughts.

Please see here.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

God Bless the Bowman family, the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders and the members of our Military.

Respect,

DNR

My second mission was in early 2006, in a very small town, deep in southern Illinois.
The services were broadcasted over a local radio station.
At one point in the services, the family took turns thanking God for their treasured time and memories of their loved one.

I admired their strength, but I was surprised too.
I questioned my faith and my beliefs.
I questioned God.

Now in my deep sorrow I am beginning to understand.

Thank you God for allowing me to know and treasure Greg Bowman.


with love and respects,
Scoot

To our extended PGR family, 

How can we say “thank you” for being there for Greg and our family this past week? Not always in person, but through the “airwaves” as well. 

Words seem so inadequate at a time like this.  We have followed the thread everyday and cried everyday.  I, Mom Bowman, was angered at first by the words being distributed by “the others”, then I thought, Greg must have done something really good for them to think he had been so important that they needed to come all the way from Kansas to do “their thing”.  AND I knew PGR would take care of the situation as Greg and Mike had done on the Missions we had been on with them.  When we came around the corner and saw the fire trucks and heard the loud church music, we knew “they” were there and we were, gratefully, protected.  Well done PGR!!  The marvelous lines of flags at the funeral home, at the church, and to Greg’s office.  Well done PGR!!!  I am so glad we decided to go on the Lancaster Mission in Stockton.  We met some of you for the first time that day,  you were on your first Mission.  Greg was directing traffic that was coming down from the cemetery when we approached him later, after standing flag lines at the funeral home and cemetery that day.  He said, “Mom, I will talk to you later, the family cars are coming now, I have to go take care of them and thanks for coming today”.  Mission First. How I would rather have been standing flag lines the past days instead of being on the “inside”. 

My heart is broken and I know you may have some related feelings also.  I always knew that Greg would be an organizer, as are his brothers and sister, but I never expected our Son would be so recognized and loved by so many.  You will never know how loved we felt from those who traveled from near and far to honor Greg, to shake our hands or give us a hug. You all have become a very important part of our lives.  For right now, the PGR flag you gave to us lays over a banister near our kitchen and offices.  We want you to know it gets a gentle hand on it many times a day as we pass by.  We feel your love there. At times, our grief is overwhelming.  

If any of you are out for a ride on the roads north of Polo, please stop in and see us. 

You will always be welcome and hugs are a requirement. 

Mission Completed, Mom and Dad Bowman

To Grandma Bowman, Mom & Dad, Joann, Mike, Joe, Dylan, Megan, Lauren, Frances, Stacy, Stephanie, Mike, Jeff, Rod, Paul and Everyone:

    To all of you I pledge my never-ending love and devotion.  You have from me and all members of the Patriot Guard the utmost of our respect and admiration.  The other night, I sent out an e-mail to my fellow members. Please allow me to share that with you here as well.

                                                            One Week Ago Tonight

    One week ago tonight, our lives were forever changed when the life of a Brother, a Mentor, a Friend was lost. I will not forget the pain of such a devastating kick in the gut.  Hearts were torn from all of our chests that night.

    Never could I have imagined that we would witness the sons of such a wonderful man be the alter boys at their father's funeral mass, that I would receive the honor of carrying his two sons, sister and his lovely bride on my Wing on such a somber day.  I reached down to touch Joann during our ride and said it was my hope that she felt the love of our presence.  She started to cry and said: "Oh My God RO, Greg Used To Do That All The Time To Me!"  As we traveled down the street toward the law firm, I felt as though the load was made lighter by the showing of such incredible support by you equally incredible people.  She said to me that Greg would be and is so very humbled and proud.

    In life, we were drawn together by the magnetic personality of a great man.  Just as a conductor with his orchestra in the performance of a symphony, he worked tirelessly to see that we all strived to achieve an even greater level of expectation.

    In the celebration of his life, we will now carry on with an ever stronger foundation in the service of others.

                                                                                                      Love You Guys,
                                                                                                                RO