03/24/2026
Helen Darlene Bowden
Graveside services for Helen Darlene (Perryman) Bowden will be at 2:00 pm Saturday March 28, 2026, at Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery with Scott Wallace officiating.
Helen, age 96, passed away on March 23, 2026, in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Darlene was an Ardmore resident since the 1940s, where she established her life and family. She was born in Marietta, Oklahoma, on September 11, 1929, as one of four children to Hubert and Elma Perryman. Darlene graduated from Greenville school in 1947 in a class of seven students (graduating in the top ten of your class wasn’t a challenge in this country school), and loved being on the girls’ basketball team, her favorite sport. After graduation, she was employed as a switchboard operator at the Bell Telephone office in Marietta. Later, she co-owned a custom drapery business, Darla Drapery, in Ardmore with her sister, Cordie Marzolino, until her retirement in the late 1980s. After retiring, Darlene enjoyed her time with her husband, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family and friends.
Darlene married Willie (Bill) Bowden on August 22, 1949, and they celebrated their 74th anniversary in 2023. Bill and Darlene were devoted and founding members of the Maxwell Avenue Church of Christ in Ardmore (now the Merrick Drive Church of Christ). Their church community was their life and source of strength, and Darlene had many fond memories of church fellowships, travel with friends, and hosting domino parties at their home in Ardmore. She was loved by all and deeply respected as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, and home chef skilled in the art of all things fried and desserts that negatively impact the waistline. Charlie Pride never had a more devoted fan than Darlene.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, brothers Harold Perryman and Bill Perryman and sister Cordie (Perryman) Marzolino. She is survived by her daughter, Brenda Clinton of Ardmore and her two children, Bryan Lee and his wife April of Knoxville, Tennessee and Lauren Lee of Chickasha and great grandchildren, Lane, Kendall and Sophia: her son, Greg Bowden of Basking Ridge, New Jersey and his wife Dana and daughter Rebecca.
The family thanks the staff at Lakeland Manor nursing home and Cross Timbers Hospice for Darlene’s care in the last months of her life as she struggled with dementia. In lieu of flowers and plants, the family requests donations to Cross Timbers Hospice (www.crosstimbershospice.org) or the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).
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