Joseph M. “Joe” Bowerman, age 63, of Dubuque, was called home peacefully at 8:00 p.m., on Sunday, May 6, 2018, at home, surrounded by his loving family. To honor Joe’s life, funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Friday, May 11, 2018, at St. Raphael’s Cathedral, 231 Bluff Street, with Msgr. Thomas E. Toale officiating. To celebrate Joe’s life, family and friends may visit from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., on Thursday, May 10, 2018, at Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main Street. Entombment will be in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum. Full military honors will be accorded by the Dubuque Marine Corps League.

Joe was born on October 22, 1954, in Baltimore, MD, son of Biays and Lois (Powers) Bowerman.

Joe was a proud graduate of Wahlert High School, Class of 1972, and in true patriotic fashion would immediately join the Marine Corps after graduation. Joe would go on to honorably serve his country with the U.S. Marines Corps for 6 years, and then joined the U.S. Navy Reserves, where he spent another 20 years until his eventual retirement from the military in 2001 as a Senior Chief Construction Mechanic, CMCS. During his service, Joe was able to not only visit many of the bases stateside, but he also had the opportunity to make it to Japan and Puerto Rico. He continued to enjoy getting together monthly, with his fellow comrades from the Seabees, to swap stories and solve the world’s problems without any interference from outside forces. Joe was united in marriage to the love of his life, Jane Hartmann, on October 2, 1976, at the Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque. They were truly blessed with 41 wonderful years together, and 4 adored children. Joe was undeniably raised with a strong work ethic and after serving active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, he continued to put his talents to great use in the maintenance departments at Sears Auto Center, and Loras College, until his final retirement from the working world in 2008. Joe also used his considerable skills to work on his beloved 1968 Dodge Dart, always keeping it in tip-top shape and spending “countless hours” working on his full-body restoration. His spiritual faith was of the utmost importance to Joe also as he was a long-time member of St. Raphael’s Cathedral, and continually strived to be the best man he could be while trapped in his earthly temple. Joe and Jane also enjoyed traveling extensively and loved to share the photos, souvenirs and stories they collected along the way with family, friends and anyone with an open ear. Without a doubt though, spending time with his family was the one thing which brought Joe the greatest joy throughout his life; and when the grandkids, and great-grandkids starting coming along, his joy was abundantly doubled. We are deeply saddened with the loss of our beloved husband, dad, grandpa, brother, uncle and friend, but take comfort in knowing that Joe is finally free of the health challenges he has faced so gracefully the last 2 years. Joe, you were an excellent example of what it means to be a true leader and patriarch of such a loving and extensive family, and we will diligently carry those lessons forward with us until we see you again!

Those left to cherish Joe’s memory include

his loving wife,
Jane Bowerman, Dubuque, IA;

his children,
Donald “Don” (Tracy) Bowerman, Fort Worth, TX,
Jennifer Reif, Dubuque, IA,
Nick (Mady) Bowerman, Dubuque, IA
and Katie Jo (Tom) Besler, Dubuque, IA;

7 grandchildren,
Debbie (Mark) Allen, Collin Bowerman, Sam Bowerman, Christian Reif, Ethan Reif, Brock Reif and Morgan Quick;

a great-granddaughter,
Ashley Allen;

his siblings,
Stephen (Janet) Bowerman, Colorado Springs, CO,
Mary Bowerman, Tacoma, WA,
Paul (Stacie) Bowerman, Wilmington, NC,
Beth (Ken) Jaeger, Dubuque, IA,
Rich (Jennifer) Bowerman, Hendersonville, NC
and Pete (Sue) Bowerman, Makanda, IL;

his several nieces and nephews;

and his dear and special friends,
Vince Conner, Doris Hannan, Lisa Williams, Janet Quick and Maurna Stover.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents; and his in-laws, Don and Mabel Hartmann.

Joe’s family would like to thank the nurses and staff of Hospice of Dubuque for all of their kind, compassionate and professional care of Joe, and his entire family.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.behrfuneralhome.com