Daniel W. Bowman

A memorial service is 11 a.m. March 6 at the Carson Valley 2nd Ward chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1095 Spruce St., for retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Daniel W. Bowman, 88, who died Feb. 18, 2010, in Monterey, Calif. A visitation will precede the memorial service at 9 a.m.

Born the seventh of 11 children on July 7, 1921, in Carnegie, Pa., to Barney and Bertha Bowman, Maj. Bowman enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Clark High School in 1939. He was stationed at the Marine barracks in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. He served with the Third Defense Battalion at the Battle of Midway and later with the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, receiving battlefield promotions to first sergeant.

At the age of 22, Maj. Bowman was promoted to the rank of sergeant major, one of the youngest sergeants major ever in the Marine Corps, and also married his high school sweetheart, Bertha Cridge. During the Korean War, Maj. Bowman was promoted to second lieutenant and eventually retired in 1967, having served in every rank from private to major.

A resident of Gardnerville and Zephyr Cove for more than 40 years, Maj. Bowman was an avid golfer, the winner of a number of tournaments, and even as a senior could hit a drive in excess of 300 yards.

He will be remembered for his wry sense of humor, his love of the Marine Corps, and especially his devotion to serving as an ordinance worker in the Oakland and Reno Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Maj. Bowman is survived by his wife of 66 years, Bertha; son, Dan Jr. (Mary) of Salinas, Calif.; sister Mary (Hank) Haffner of Columbia, S.C.; grandchildren Brian, James, Scott, Teri Montoya, Tonia Bowman-Eicher and Don Umble; and six great- grandchildren.

Interment will follow at Eastside Memorial Park in Minden. Arrangements are by Fitzhenry's Funeral Home in Gardnerville.