A celebration of Laura Bowman’s life

At a graduation ceremony at Southern Illinois University on May 13, 2000, they asked the graduates to come forward grouped by their major study in alphabetical order. Some degrees had dozens, others hundreds. Then came the math degree. There was only one graduate, Laura Jean Drayton.

Laura, now 45, was unique, one of a kind. Fiercely independent, she had ambitious goals and wanted to live life fully in her own way. She did that, right through her last chapter.

Laura was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer in late December 2017. Her initial prognosis was two years. That wasn’t good enough for her. She did her research, came up with a plan and took control of her treatment, as in all areas of her life from balancing family and work and playing the family’s financial guru.

She knew that this was just another challenge to overcome. She was impossibly positive, fueled by the life she loved with her husband and children. She would flash her brilliant smile, shut down any pessimistic talk and insist her medical team stay positive to work with her.  She played her favorite karaoke songs and cribbage with her best friend Kristen Ahrens during treatments and surgeries. She kept hiking, traveling, kayaking and doing Pilates with family and friends. Her attitude, willingness to take risks, gave her an extra three years. She died from the relentless disease nearly five years after her diagnosis.

In the days before her death, she was comforted by a puffy small bird, a female version of a cardinal,  her Grandma’s favorite bird, in her dreams. She realized Grandma was telling her she would be ok. She had lived her life well, given it her all and her family would be fine.

As a child, Laura watched her parents, John and Carol (Gowler) Drayton, and wanted to be just like them: find a forever love, be a great parent, and do meaningful work that used her talents. And that is what she did. She practiced caring for others and being a great friend after her little brother, James Drayton, arrived on her third birthday. The “original four” bonded over trips to ski, camp, and canoe. Laura always shared a canoe with her dad while James shared a canoe with her mom. Laura and dad always looked under control. James and mom… not so much. With all their flailing about, James and mom got pretty good at making adjustments so when they came upon a spot of turbulent water they got through with no trouble. Laura and dad got caught in the rapids and she fell out of the canoe. Laura grabbed the side of the canoe and tried to pull herself in. Dad tried to counter by leaning away and exclaimed that she was going to tip the canoe. Laura let go and dad promptly fell in the water.

Fortunately, the experience didn’t daunt her enthusiasm to have an active life and an adventurous partner.

When Laura wanted a new challenge shortly after college, Vicki let Laura move to her St. Paul home. Laura became an underwriter at US Bank in St. Paul, MN, later moving to their Minneapolis headquarters and eventually rewriting their training programs to help staff get up to speed faster. She loved to teach in one-on-one environments and solve problems. She had the ability to figure out what someone was struggling with and explain it in a way they could understand. US Bank underwriting still uses the basics of her programs to this day. US Bank had to hire three people to replace the work she did as a senior underwriter.

All she needed to find the love of her life was to get cable TV.

After living with Vicki for a year, she bought a townhouse in Woodbury, MN. Comcast sent out a gruffy looking cable installer, Luke Bowman, and they went on their first date a few nights later. On May 27, 2007, she changed her last name to Bowman and settled in Minnesota and then later in Wisconsin.

They went on many adventures together. One of their favorites was Costa Rica with friends Alex and Stephanie Damien. Luke said to Laura, “Let’s get some pictures in this tree like little monkeys.” To which Laura replied, “Why wouldn’t I?” And Laura hung upside down with her big smile and Luke perched on a branch above her.

Laura would always surprise others with her adventurous “yes” to almost everything.

No trip was complete without a selfie of Luke and Laura hugging tightly. She showed her love for Luke by taking care of every financial, organizing, and scheduling detail even from her bed for the last months. She did all the planning for their last big trip as a family, a road trip to national parks out west. He showed his love for her by supporting her plans to get better. She walked a lot to keep her health up, but that’s hard to do in the snow of Wisconsin. Luke would use the tractor to create a path through their backyard so she could walk their beloved dog Daizee every day. One of the very last things we heard her say was, “Where’s Luke? He always knows what I need without me saying a word.”

Creating a family was one of her favorite adventures. Alan Robert 14, Clara Jean 11 and Elsie Marie 9 added so much joy to her life. She was on top of schedules and her kids’ needs from Christmas presents to birthday parties, from meals to homework (imagine the math help she could give!).

She wanted the kids to enjoy all the things that she loved. They introduced the kids to travel and the beauty of the outdoors. They took many trips to Luke’s grandparents’ lake house with skiing, tubing, fishing, swimming, hiking and fun with cousins. And they took trips with Laura’s parents and her brother’s family all over the country with many similar activities.

Laura was so good at bonding with her kids, recognizing their different personalities and giving them what they needed. Supporting Alan and his passion for Fortnite and his increasing skills at math. Comforting Clara during a blood draw with a goofy song. Reassuring Elsie she didn’t have to memorize photos of her because mom could see her from heaven (like a spy, wondered Elsie?).

The last days of Laura’s life were spent making sure everyone important to her knew how much she loved them. It was an extraordinary physical effort for her, but it was crucial. She spent a lifetime caring about how she made others feel. She wasn’t about to stop now.

No one will forget the way she made them feel.

A celebration of Laura’s life will be held on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Hudson. Visitation will be from 5:00pm – 7:00pm with a service that will start at 7:00pm. the service will be live streamed and can be watched live here.

In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred and can be made out to Luke Bowman with the memo line filled out “For Laura B.’s kids.” If you are un able to attend her service, you can forward your cards to the O’Connell Family Funeral Home, 520 11th St S. Hudson, WI, 54016.