Obituary for Virginia Ruth Harris Rowen

Virginia Ruth Harris Rowen, 97, of Johnston passed away peacefully October 23, 2023, at the home she shared with her daughter. She was born to Benjamin and Ada Borton Harris and graduated from Union High School in 1944. She earned a diploma from the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Marshalltown, Iowa, in 1947 and worked as a registered nurse in a variety of settings until she retired. Virginia married Paul Rowen on November 16, 1950, and they were married 61 years until his death. They had three children. They lived on a farm outside Union throughout their marriage, and she lived in Hansell and Johnston since Paul’s death. Her hobbies included reading, playing cards with friends, playing piano, and doing needlework until her arthritis prevented it.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sons David and Darrell, her son-in-law Gary Yeoman, and her siblings Jeanette Pevehouse Davis and Herman Harris.

She is survived by her daughter, Linda Yeoman of Johnston, her daughter-in-law Sue Rowen of Hansell, and her six grandchildren Michelle (Patrick McQueen) Yeoman, Mark Yeoman, Michael (Stephanie) Yeoman, Kristi (Cory) Meyer, Laura (Tony) Sherratt, and Kaylynn (Max) Boomershine. She is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren–Avery, Hudson, Kinsley, Hadley, and Landon Meyer, Rowen Sherratt, Madyson and Mylee Stiefel, Maisy Yeoman, and Mia and Andrew Yeoman–and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at the Union Community Church on Sunday, October 29 at 3:30pm. Her ashes will be interred at the Bangor Cemetery. An additional service for Des Moines-area friends and family will take place at Covenant Christian Church in Urbandale on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 3:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the family to be distributed later.