Mary Ellen Pridgen Bowen, 88, of Elizabethtown, went to be with her Lord on Monday, February 10, 2025, at her home, surrounded by her loving family.

Mary Ellen was born on September 29, 1936, daughter of the late Charles Utley Pridgen and Ruby Lee White Pridgen. She was also preceded in death by her three siblings, Charles Lloyd Pridgen, Denzil Pridgen Hernandez, John M. Hall, adopted parents, Davis Moore Pridgen and Barbara Beard Pridgen, and adopted siblings, Douglas Pridgen, Don Pridgen, Cameron Pridgen, Harriet Pridgen Harris, Davis Beard Pridgen, and Iris Pridgen Sasser.

Mary Ellen was by nature a quiet person who spent much of her life helping others. She was a homemaker who loved to cook and bake special dishes that she shared with friends and neighbors. Her delicious lemon pies will long be remembered and she passed those talents to her two daughters.

She also enjoyed traveling. In her early years, the destination was often the Great Smoky Mountains camping by the Little River and hiking trails that seemed never to end. One of the highlights was breakfast at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg for the best pancakes anywhere. She visited 50 states and most national parks. The Canadian Rockies and the Icefields Parkway were some of her favorite spots.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, February 17, 2025, at Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church (14 Lisbon Road, Council, NC), of which she was a member, with burial to follow in the church cemetery;  Pastor Chris Carlisle will officiate.

The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service on Monday, at the church.

Mary Ellen leaves behind her loving husband, Bronnie F. Bowen; children, Rachel Bowen (Douglas Frey) of Savannah, GA, Phillip M. Bowen (Wanda) of Whiteville, NC; Patricia “Trish” Bowen Inscoe (Graham) of Elizabethtown, NC; six grandchildren, Hadley Bowen (Joni), Meredith Bowen, Adam Inscoe, Trent Inscoe (Saybah), Will Inscoe (Jessica), Sam Inscoe and five great-grandchildren, Ellie Bowen, Evan Bowen, Campbell Ann Inscoe, Tag Inscoe, Shannon Ward (Candice); siblings, Eleanor Pridgen (Herbert) of Whiteville, NC, JoAnn Pridgen (Lester) of Whiteville, NC, James Hall of Ivanhoe, VA; two sister in laws, Ann Hall and Emilie Pridgen both of Whiteville; several loving nieces and nephews.

We can never thank her caretakers enough for their love and compassion shown during her final weeks. As our friend and doctor of many years said, “you will have a special place in heaven.” We love you and will never forget your kindness. May God bless and reward each of you. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mt. Horeb Cemetery Fund, C/O Gayle Boykin- 407 Munroe Road Council, NC 28434 or to Liberty Hospice- 118 W Broad St, Elizabethtown, NC 28337.