Carnival 2019: Photo by Gerry Atkinson
In Memory of Jane Bowell, 1950-2024
by
Jane Evelyn Bowell passed away on the 6th November 2024 after a long illness. She was 74 years old.
Jane was kind-hearted, generous, a loving mother and an indulgent grandmother. She will be sorely missed by all those she left behind: her daughters Charlotte and Rachel, her son-in-law Wolfgang, her sister, Sarah, and all the other members of her family.
She was born Jane Fountain of Jean Patricia and Derek Sydney Fountain in Bedford, and her early years were spent commuting between the UK and Nigeria, where Derek was the Chief of Police. He was famous at the time as the person under whose jurisdiction the so-called Man-Leopard murders were solved. Various people were killed in such a way that it appeared to be the work of a big cat, before it was discovered that, actually, human beings were responsible.
Jane spent half of the year in Nigeria, and the other half in the UK, with long trips by ship travelling between. It is this, according to Charlotte, that explains her unwillingness to travel in later life. She was a home body. She was reluctant ever to leave Whitstable.
She came to the town in the late ‘70s. Before that she was in Folkestone, then Birchington, then Chestfield. After moving to Whitstable she lived in Sydenham Street for a while before, finally, settling down in Reservoir Road, where her second daughter, Rachel, was born. After that she never wanted to go anywhere else. Whitstable suited her. It was her home. Later her sister, Sarah Worth, and mother came to join her.
Jane was a legal secretary for much of her life, although she took time off to bring up her children. It was during this period that she undertook a part time degree in English Literature. She was the first person in her family to have obtained a degree. She wrote her final dissertation on horses in Shakespeare.
She had many friends. When she was pregnant with Charlotte she became involved with a bunch of young mothers who all gave birth at around the same time. She called them “the toddlers group” and remained friends with them throughout her life. Charlotte remembers days on the beach and outings with the group, gangs of kids playing together, all having fun.
Jane loved Whitstable, and was a talented and prolific photographer of the town. She loved the harbour and walks on the beach. She kept a record of the changing of the seasons by photographing Rachel in front the blossoms in her garden every year.
She loved animals. She loved nature. There was a Fox’s den at the bottom of her garden and she loved to watch the young cubs gambolling on her lawn. Later, when her illness had forced her into a care home, she took comfort from watching the world from her window: the passing of the seasons, spring blossom and autumn gold, squirrels at play in the branches, the flight of birds in the summer air.
She particularly loved horses. She loved horses so much she filled her house with models of them. There were hundreds, lining almost every shelf in her little bungalow. Rachel and Charlotte say that when she was growing up she lived in an idyllic house in Folkestone, with many animal companions, which she used to feed. This included horses. It was here that her great love was born.
Jane was a foundational member of the Whitstable Carnival Association (WCA), the new committee that was formed after the old committee retired en masse in 2018. She was the secretary from 2018 till 2022 when she was forced to retire because of her illness. Her record keeping was careful and meticulous and helped provide a much needed anchor to some of the flightier elements in the committee. Her bright pink files, the basis of her filing system, are still in use today. When writing official correspondence on WCA headed notepaper, Jane would always end the letter with a “Hurrah!”
Nick Dent, the current chair of the WCA, has this to say about Jane’s time as its secretary:
“Jane was a stalwart of the new management committee which took over the running of Whitstable Carnival from 2018 until her illness meant she was not able to continue her support. She helped us establish the new body. Jane was our backbone. She will be remembered fondly and will be a hard act to follow. Thanks Jane for all your help and support and know that the people of Whitstable have benefited from your endeavours.”
Her funeral will take place at Herne Bay Crematorium (Bullockstone Road, Herne Bay CT6 7NF) at Midday on the 18th December. All welcome. Feel free to dress for carnival and to wear bright colours if you wish. A celebration of Jane’s life will take place from 1.15pm at the Marine Hotel, Tankerton. Please RSVP Rachel Bowell at sunshinefairytree@yahoo.com if you wish to attend.
An evening celebration for Jane with live music will be held on Monday 23rd December at Thirty Nine Whitstable, 39 Oxford Street, Whitstable, from 5pm onwards. Please RSVP Rachel Bowell at sunshinefairytree@yahoo.com if you would like to attend.
Photos by Gerry Atkinson:
https://www.gerryatkinson.com/
(Click on images to enlarge)
Photos courtesy of Rachel Bowell:
(Click on images to enlarge)
About CJ Stone
CJ Stone is an author, columnist and feature writer. He has written seven books, and columns and articles for many newspapers and magazines.
Read more of CJ Stone’s work here, here and here.
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