Dorothy June Bennett Gowen

Mrs. Dorothy June Bennett Gowen, 98, died Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at her home in Oxford, MS. The funeral service will be Friday, August 15, 2025, at 1 P.M. at First Baptist Church, with Rev. Robert Allen and Rev. Tom Barrett officiating. Burial will follow in Eastover Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, August 15, 2025, from 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M. at First Baptist Church’s Atrium, Oxford, MS. Waller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Gowen was born on February 26, 1927, in Memphis, TN to the late Jennings Louis and Mary Moon Bennett. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church, Oxford. She would consider herself a homemaker; however, she was lauded as the consummate cook. She demonstrated love through her distinctive ability to prepare virtually anything in a manner that left everyone smiling and stuffed. She was a prominent member of church choirs throughout her life. For decades, she taught children’s Sunday school and children’s choir. If this was not enough, she worked as an interior decorator, legal secretary and in accounting. She would paint the house if she could find a ladder. Tackling a challenge never stopped her; she knew she would just figure it out.

Mrs. Gowen was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth King Gowen Jr. and son, Philip Bennett Gowen.

Mrs. Gowen is survived by sons, Kenneth King Gowen III (Susie) of Oxford, MS, and Timothy Clyde Gowen (Michelle) of Oxford, MS; four grandchildren Kent of Houston, TX, Greg (Tracy) of Oxford, MS, Gray (Emily) of Oxford, MS, and Gracie of Indianapolis, IN; and two great grandchildren, Carter and Katherine of Oxford, MS.

Memorial contributions in Mrs. Gowen’s memory may be made to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, 848 Adams Ave, Memphis, TN 38103.