Anne Bowes

Anne Bowes Burrall was born to Lawrence and Louise Kresge on April 27, 1938 in Auburn, New York and after a long and fulfilling life, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 5, 2023 in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. She was married to Rev. Elmer Burrall (Christ Lutheran Church, HSV) who passed away just a month earlier. Both were long time residents of Hot Springs Village. Anne was a church choir director, organist and medical transcriptionist. Anne loved living in the Village with Elmer and after retirement both remained active with many of the Village’s churches. Anne enjoyed her many children, step children and grand children, who all referred to her lovingly as “Granny”.

Anne was baptized in the First Presbyterian Church in Auburn. Anne graduated from Auburn East High School in in 1956. Anne was confirmed at St. Bartholomew’s’ Episcopal Church in New York City in 1957. While in New York City she also studied and graduated from the Katherine Gibbs School and was later certified in medical transcription. Anne also studied nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but ultimately received her degree in music from Orange Coast College in California in 1972. Next to family, music was her second love.

Anne was first married to Dr. Paul Bowes (deceased) in 1959 and they had four boys together: Bruce (deceased); Scott of Hot Springs Village; Brian of Monroe, La.; and David of Harahan, La. The family travelled across the country with Paul’s work, living in New York, California and Louisiana and she enjoyed many adventures with family travelling around the country. Anne was famous for her hospitality, offering the family home for those who needed a place to stay, such as soldiers on leave or travelling musical groups. Anne always became a big part of the family’s local church in every new town in which they lived, usually as the organist or choir director. Paul and Anne loved music and in her early family homes she kept both a large Wurlitzer organ and an upright piano. Musicianship was encouraged in the family, each child played at least one instrument (some well, some not so) and it stuck with a couple. In 1981, Anne married her second husband Gene Reynolds (deceased) and took on a whole new extended family whom she loved. Anne loved dogs and cats and the family had many as pets. In 1990, Anne and Gene moved from Louisiana and retired to Hot Springs Village where they became active members of the Village community and introduced it to their South Louisiana friends and family who visited often. She was later married for over 20 years to Rev. Elmer Burrall (deceased) and took on an even larger extended family who she accepted as her own. In the early 2000’s Anne and Elmer moved from Hot Springs Village to Florida to retire to “The Villages” and later to Weirsdale, Florida, for about 10 years, where they lived in the middle of an old orange grove on the lake and took care of the vast garden of their charming old wooden house, where they roomed many visiting family members for Disney World trips, providing many good memories and making many new friends. Anne and Elmer also took over duties at Lady of the Lake Church in Weirsdale, where she was the organist. Anne and Elmer later returned to Hot Springs Village where they enjoyed their home on Lake Desoto for the last 10 years. In every new town she lived Anne was always very active in the church, mostly in the choir, as the organist, choir director or simply one of the loudest and distinct voices in the choir. Anne was last a parishioner at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

Anne actually never “retired”. She was always on the go. Anne enjoyed gardening and crafts such as sewing (she made cloths for young children), macramé and arranging baskets for Christmas. .Her true passion was music. In addition to working with many local Village churches of all denominations such as Christ Lutheran, Holy Trinity Episcopal, Unitarian Universalist Village Church, as an organist, choir director or member of the choir. Anne was also a member the Crystal Chimes Chorus and the Sweet Adeline’s, with whom she enjoyed travelling and singing. Anne also loved singing with Elmer at church and home. She and Elmer loved their peaceful home on Lake Desoto with their cats Bucket and Carmel, where they again received may friends and family members for good times on the lake. Anne and Elmer also enjoyed travelling and visiting their large family who lived across the country. She always had a piano in the home and played it until she could no longer and always singing with Elmer. Anne and Elmer spent their last year together at Mt. Carmel Assisted Living, and are now together again, still loving one another as they always did, along with their family and friends who predeceased them.

Anne also leaves behind her sister, Karuna (Linda) McLaughlin of Vermont, many loving grand children, Andrew, Bridget, Connor, Dawson, Bay, and many loving step kids, grand kids and daughters in-laws, step grandkids, or those she just considered as her own including Sean, Collette, Alan, Karen, Linda, Robert, Carolyn, Joy, Kim, Terry, Ann, Christopher, Autumn and many others. She accepted her extended families as her own and blended them into one. The whole family gives special thanks to Anne’s and Elmer’s physicians and caretakers at Mount Carmel, Loving Care Assisted Living , Gentiva Hospice, My Loving Care Assisted Living, and especially Linda and Connor who stayed with them during their last two hard years. Thank you to all of their friends who regularly checked in on them during that time.

Our most important relationship, our relationship with the Lord, will reach its fulfillment in heaven. We will finally see him “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12), and we will finally be free to worship him with our whole hearts. In that respect, we will be “like the angels in heaven” (Mark 12:25). “Lord, I am longing for the day when my loved ones and I will be together in your presence!” Tobit 3:1-11, 16-17; Psalm 25:2-9.

A memorial service for Anne will be held on July 15 at 2 p.m  at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 199 Barcelona Rd, Hot Springs Village, AR . In Lieu of flowers consider donations made to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church 199 Barcelona Rd, Hot Springs Village, AR 71909 or the Hot Springs Village Animal Welfare League, 195 Cloaca Lane, Hot Springs Village, AR 71909. https://hsvawl.org/