Blanche “Marie” Hovde

Marie, 85, passed away unexpectedly on September 18, 2018, in Silver Spring, MD.  She was born on February 18, 1933, in Lansing, Michigan, to Marion (Dolan) and Fred Stowell, Sr.  Marie had resided in DeWitt, MI for many years and had lived in Silver Spring, MD for the past seven years.

After graduating from Eastern High School in Lansing in 1952, she moved to Yakima, WA and worked on an apple orchard farm.  She eventually returned to Lansing and worked as a bar tender, cook, secretary and later a stay at home Mom.  She loved to tell jokes, laugh and had a beautiful smile.  For many years she was an active member of Hope Lutheran Church in DeWitt.  She loved reading, music, playing cards, bingo, baking, cooking, sharing recipes, watching all sports with baseball and football being her favorites.  She also enjoyed teaching grandchildren how to crochet and sew.

Marie was preceded in death by her husband, Kermit Owen Hovde in 1980; parents, Fred, Sr. and Marion Stowell; and siblings, Dora Stowell, Ruth (Stowell) Van Buren, Shirley (Stowell) Palmer, Norma (Stowell) May, Raymond Stowell, James Stowell, and Fred Stowell, Jr.

She is survived by her two daughters, Lisa Hovde in Silver Spring, MD and Brenda (Dean) Reynolds in Greer, SC; brothers, Earl Stowell in Grand Rapids, MI and Wayne Stowell in Lansing, MI; granddaughters, Samantha L. Hovde and Johnny Jones in Lansing, MI, Kara R. Reynolds and Larry Meyer in Greer, SC, Anna M. Hovde in Silver Spring, Aryn K. Reynolds and Niles Samuel Zupokfska Ray in Greer; three great-grandchildren, Lillian Rae Meyer, Raedyn Josef Meyer, and Emalani Lynne Zupokfska Ray, all in Greer; and several nieces and nephews, sisters-in-law in California and Minnesota, as well as many dear friends.

The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 28, 2018, at the Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel.  Interment will follow in East Lawn Memory Gardens in Okemos, MI.  Her family will receive friends from 10 – 11 a.m. on Friday at the funeral home.