Mary Lou Bowen

Mary Lou Bowen, 81 of Lake Barrington Shores, passed away peacefully on August 15, 2019. She was born on October 15, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois and was the third child to the late Francis and Muriel (Janisch) Keegan.

Mary Lou grew up on the Northside of Chicago and graduated from St. Scholastica High School. In her twenties, she worked as a secretary at a downtown advertising agency. She met William Bowen and they were married in 1962 in Chicago. Mary Lou and Bill moved to Barrington in 1968, where they raised their four children. Mary Lou was a devoted wife and mother and took great pride in her family. She loved to cook and host holiday gatherings. She was a great seamstress and enjoyed making her kid’s costumes for Halloween and their dance recitals. She enjoyed attending her son’s little league games at the Barrington Park District and their football games at Barrington High School. Some of her other passions included home decorating, gardening, shopping and the thrill of a good bargain. She loved clothes and fashion and worked part-time at Marshall Fields. After raising her children, she fulfilled a lifelong dream with Bill and they opened Simply Great Yogurt, a café serving yogurt and light lunches. Later she had a successful career in furniture sales with Macy’s until she retired in her early seventies.

Mary Lou was the loving mother of Beth (Dennis) Cloud, Will Bowen, Michael (Katie) Bowen and Margery Parsell; dear grandmother of Brooke (Zederick) Hargraves, Patrick, Sophie, Katie, Joseph, Chloe, Katie, Max, James and John; great-grandmother of Ruby Hargraves; sister of Jack Keegan and Joanne Delahanty; aunt of Colleen Keegan, Kathleen Sephton and Tim Keegan. Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Francis Keegan, and her husband, William of 50 years.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 22 from 5:00-8:00pm at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 149 W. Main St. (Lake-Cook Rd.), Barrington. On Friday, August 23, visitation will continue from 9:00am until the time of her Funeral Mass at 10:00am at Saint Anne Catholic Community, 120 N. Ela St., Barrington. Interment will be held privately at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Cemetery, Palatine.