Former elementary school teacher Evelyn Bowles served in the Illinois State Senate, and is also a US veteran. Photo Credit: St. Louis Dispatch
Many times, competent educators dedicate themselves to public service. Evelyn Bowles, an elementary school teacher from Illinois, was an educator like this. She served her community as a State Senator for many years.
Evelyn was born on April 22, 1921 in Worden, Illinois, although she was raised in Livingston, Illinois. During World Water II, Evelyn served as a yeoman in the US Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPAR) Intelligence Division. Her military service spanned the years from 1943 to 1945.
To further her education, Evelyn attended Greenville College, Illinois State University, and Southern Illinois University. While working as an elementary school teacher she taught first at Edwardsville CU #7 and then at the Elementary School in Livingston.
From 1975 to 1994, Evelyn served as the County Clerk for Madison County, Illinois. In this position, she managed election processes, kept the county’s vital records, and supervised 25 employees. Although she was a Democrat, Evelyn developed a reputation for running a nonpartisan, no-nonsense office.
In 1994 Evelyn was appointed to fill the seat of Democrat Sam M. Vadalabene in the Illinois State Senate, who had unexpectedly passed away while in office. There she represented the 56th Senate District until 2002. During her years in the Illinois State Senate, Evelyn worked diligently on numerous projects of vital importance, including one to protect lands surrounding the site of the Cahokia Mounds. In 2000, the former teacher received the Illinois Archeology Public Service Award for this work.
Evelyn spent a lifetime supporting educational causes. When she retired from public office in 2002, she used her unspent campaign funds to establish a scholarship for future public servants at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. “I can’t think of anything that would mean more to me than encouraging others to take an active role in public service, the electoral process and government,” the former educator explained.
The many awards Evelyn earned are too numerous to list, but here are the some of the most prestigious: In 1979 she garnered the Alice Paul Award from the Alton-Edwardsville Chapter of NOW. In 1984 she received the Girl Scouts Service Award, and she was recognized among the Outstanding Working Women of Illinois by the Illinois Federation of Business and Professional Women in 1986. In 1987 she received the Social Security Administration Service Award.
Evelyn Bowles passed away in Edwardsville, Illinois, on April 8, 2016, just two weeks shy of her 95th birthday. To read more about her, see this obituary published by the St. Louis Dispatch.
