4 generations of Bowlby men ...They Were Never, Ever, Ever ........Going to get married (but they did and their marriages lasted the test of time)

This is Lewis Bowlby.  I don't know that he was never, ever, ever going to get married as the generations after him, but at one point he was not going to get married to the woman who ended up being his wife.  He had fallen in love with a woman of a different faith (I'll be blogging on this in the future).  And realizing the turmoil this would cause her, him and their parents they decided to end their relationship.

This is Minnie Dineen.  The love that he swore he would leave.  Her parents would not allow a marriage if Lewis ( a Presbyterian ) did not convert to the Catholic faith.  Or at least promise that all children born to the marriage would be raised catholic. Lewis and Minnie tried very hard to not get married, to find someone else, but in the end love won out.  Lewis promised Minnie that the children could be raised Catholic and that he would join the Catholic church after his father passed away.  The sad ending to this tale is that Lewis died before his father in a train accident.  As a final effort though to keep his promise to his wife he had a Catholic priest pronounce him Catholic on his death bed.

This is John Dineen Bowlby.  He was very sure that he would never,ever, ever  get married.  I'm not sure why but he was sure he would not get married. In fact he did not get married until he was almost 35 years old.

This is Mary Clare Brutcher.  The woman who made him change his mind about marriage.  I'm not sure of how they met, but when John met Mary he knew he found the right woman.  Mary was actually engaged to another man when they met.  John recounted that he knew that he had to "break that engagement up".  And he did.

Here is the beautiful bride.  I don't have any other wedding photo's, but I do have a news paper clipping on the wedding.  I'll have to get it scanned into the computer sometime soon.

The happy couple years later.  You can just tell that he still loves her, just the way he looks at her.

Here is their youngest son Richard Bowlby.  Another I'm never, ever, ever getting married man.  I think at some point they should advise others not to say that.  Seems that when you say it cupid uses extra potent arrows.

Here is the unsuspecting bride to be Miss Bettyanne Papcun.  She also was never, ever, ever going to get married.  In fact she was going to have her own singing career.  And was well on her way to that, when she was set up on a blind date.  And one blind date changed two lives forever.

Here they are on their wedding day. Richard got married a bit younger than his father and grandfather. 

Here they are fifty years later renewing their wedding vows. 

And here is the happy couple 57 years later.  Visiting their son and his family in Utah. The missionaries at the temple visitor center loved chatting with them and loved that they wore matching outfits, even though that was not planned.

Here is their youngest son James Bowlby.  James took after the generations before him and said he would never, ever, ever get married.  In fact after joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints, and hearing that they believed marriage to be a very important part of life said " I would not get married unless the hand of God pointed down from the skies and said "Bowlby you do or die!" "  Some one in his family should have warned him not to say that.  It surely gets Bowlby men in to trouble.

His wife to be Kimberly.  She also was never,ever, ever going to get married.  She was going to work with horses and stay away from men.  But somehow these two met and cupid shot his arrow.

And they were married for all time and eternity!  

I hope you enjoyed this.  I love "love stories" and how people meet.  You don't often hear people say I was never going to get married.  Most of the time people are looking for that someone special.  So when I heard so many stories in my husbands family line of not intending to get married I knew I had to do a little blog about it.  My son seems to think he will get married some day.  He needs to make sure the Bowlby line continues. My daughter, on the other hand, well she says she is never, ever, ever getting married.  She would much rather live with cats.  I just smile.....She is so like me in some ways.

Related Sites:

How do I Love Thee....