Obituary - Marcia Bowman Franklin

Marcia Bowman Franklin received her place with Jesus in eternal glory on September 1, 2024. Marcia was born on June 17, 1948 to parents Lucille P. Bowman and Heath P. Bowman. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lucille and Heath, and her youngest brother, David S. Bowman. Marcia is survived by her husband, William R. Franklin, her daughter, Ellen F. Scites (Kevin), and her son, Brian H. Franklin. She is also survived by her two granddaughters, Lauren and Emily Scites, her two grandsons, Tyler and Parker Franklin, her brother, Darrell H. Bowman (Carolyn), and many nieces and nephews.

Marcia was too humble to ever say that she was the valedictorian of the J.R. Tucker High School class of 1966 and a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Longwood College in 1970. She was inspired to a career in education by her third grade teacher.

Marcia became a classroom teacher and a reading specialist. She taught at several Henrico County elementary schools for a total of 30 years. One of her great joys was seeing her former students and hearing about their accomplishments. She had the pleasure of teaching the children of several of her former students. One of Marcia's principals commented that she could "teach a rock to read!"

Marcia was raised at Pine Street Baptist Church and she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior at age 12. Marcia and Bill met on a blind date and they were married for 51 years. They joined Mount Vernon Baptist Church together shortly before their marriage in June 1973. Marcia and Bill had a wonderful marriage and life together. Marcia was a devoted wife, a loving mother and grandmother, and an exceptional homemaker. She consistently lived her faith all her life.

Marcia devoted her retirement years to family activities, especially with her grandchildren. Bill and Marcia are blessed to be raising one of their grandsons, Parker. Marcia enjoyed reading, flowers, birds, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and retail therapy. Recently she began to enjoy aerobics and walking. She loved her church and her Sunday School class, the Encouragers.

Memorial activities for Marcia will be held at Mount Vernon Baptist Church located at 11220 Nuckols Road in Glen Allen on Monday, September 9, 2024. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM in the church sanctuary. The Memorial Service will begin at 11:00 AM in the sanctuary and a Reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall at 12:00 PM. A short grave-side service will be held at 2:30 PM in the Mount Vernon Memorial Park behind the church. In lieu of flowers, you can consider a gift in Marcia's memory to the Mount Vernon Building Fund.