John C. “Sonny” Bower, Jr.

John C. “Sonny” Bower, Jr., of 375 Bower Road, Montgomery, died Thursday, March 28, 2013 at home.

Born August 4, 1930 in Williamsport, he was a son of the late John C. Bower, Sr. and Mabel A. (Fague) Bower. On November 4, 1951, he married the former Shirley L. Whidden, who survives. His death ended a marital union of 61 years.

Following graduation from the former Montgomery-Clinton High School in 1948, he served in the U.S. Navy assigned to the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Chincoteague, Virginia. He was a veteran of the Korean War.

His lifetime career was dedicated to dairy farming, and he eventually became associated with the Farm Service Agency in Montoursville, where he served more than 30 years as a field assistant and committee member. His total years of participation with conservation district programs spanned more than 50 years, and he was named Cooperator of the Year in 1961 and was one of the first people to participate in the county Chesapeake Bay program.

Sonny was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and water skiing at the Nisbet river lot. For many years he bowled in the Cloverleaf leagues in Muncy, and in his spare time he was always tinkering around the farm. Sonny especially loved being with his family.

He was a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church, Elimsport.

Surviving in addition to his wife are three sons and daughters-in-law, David C. and Judy Bower, Dennis J. and Candy Bower, and Daniel F. and Carol Bower, all of Montgomery; one brother and sister-in-law, Joseph and Connie Bower of Allenwood; two sisters and one brother-in-law, Margaret and Harold Drick of Allenwood and Mary Metzger of Mifflinburg; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Friends were received from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, April 2, at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 715 Pikes Peak Road, Allenwood, where the funeral was held at noon. Officiating was his minister, Pastor Michael A. Hill. Burial followed in Elimsport Cemetery.

The family provided the flowers and suggests memorial contributions be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 715 Pikes Peak Road, Allenwood, PA 17810.

Expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grenoblefuneralhome.com