He was born RUFUS LESTER BOWEN, and was called LESTER by all his contemporaries and Uncle LESTER by all his nephews and nieces, and he had many. LESTER was the third born of thirteen children to Alfred Jackson Bowen, SR. & Ann Elizabeth Williams. He worked in a country store near Adabelle Community as a young man where he met and later married the love of his life, LEILA MAE BOWEN (a distant cousin), daughter of George W. Bowen (1876-1925) and Annie "Eliza" Simms (1876-1928).

Rufus Lester and Leila Mae had four children:

1. Virginia Bowen, b. April 9, 1915. She married and divorced (name unknown at time of this writing). No children from this marriage.
2. Harry Bowen, b. January 2, 1917. He married Lucile Miles. As a young man, he worked in a Cotton Gin and lost one hand in an accident there. He and his wife operated the Bowen Dry Cleaning business in Claxton, Georgia. After his death, Lucile continued to operate the business until she reached retirement age and she, then, sold it. No children from this marriage.
3. Jack R. Bowen, b. September 29, 1918. He married Evelyn Poston and they had three children: - Robert Bowen, - Ronnie Bowen, - Susan Bowen.
4. Elizabeth Ann Bowen, b. February 11, 1925. She married Angus Newton and they have two children: - Nancy Newton, b. October 15, 1950, - Angie Newton, May 1, 1953. Nancy Newton married John David Miles and they have two children: - John David Miles, Jr., b. January 21, 1971, - Jason Paul Miles, b. October 5, 1973. Angie Newton married Craig Hodges and they have two children: - Courtney Brooke Hodges, - Lindsey Ann Hodges.

All RUFUS LESTER BOWEN'S siblings, including him, are listed below, in birth order:

i. SARAH JANE "SALLIE" BOWEN, b. 13 May 1884, Bulloch County, GA; d. 12 Jul 1942, Tattnall County, GA. Burial in Old Anderson Church Cemetery, Collins, Tattnall County, Georgia.
ii. MINNIE REBECCA BOWEN, b. 16 Oct 1885, Bulloch Bulloch County, GA County GA; d. 15 Jan 1971, Bulloch County, GA. Burial Lower Lotts Creek Church Cemetery, Statesboro, Bulloch County, Georgia.
iii. RUFUS LESTER BOWEN, b. 23 Nov 1887, Bulloch County GA; d. 03 Dec 1964, Bulloch County, GA. Burial in Ephesus Church Cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia.
iv. WILLIAM WRIGHT BOWEN, b. 27 Dec 1890, Bulloch County, GA; d. 13 Apr 1952, Tattnall County, GA. Burial in Old Anderson Church Cemetery, Collins, Tattnall County, Georgia.
v. JAMES HARRY "JIM H" BOWEN, b. 02 Feb 1892, Bulloch County, GA; d. 01 Jun 1960, Chatham County, GA. Burial in Hillcrest Abbey East, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.
vi. BERTIE FRARIE BOWEN, b. 14 Aug 1894, Bulloch County GA; d. 29 Jan 1982, Bulloch County GA. Burial in Ephesus Church Cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia.
vii. JOHN J. "JOHNNIE" BOWEN, b. 04 Jan 1897, Bulloch County, GA; d. 05 Dec 1899, Bulloch County, GA. Burial in Ephesus Church Cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia.
viii. ALFRED JACKSON "A.J." BOWEN, JR., b. 26 Jul 1899, Bulloch County, GA; d. 08 May 1971, Chatham County, GA. Burial in Ephesus Church Cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia.
ix. ANNIE MAE BOWEN, b. 04 Feb 1902, Bulloch County, GA; d. 27 Jan 1990, Milledgeville, Baldwin County, GA. Burial Ephesus Church Cemetery, Bulloch County, Georgia in the same plot with her parents.
x. ALICE NITA BOWEN, b. 29 Oct 1904, Bulloch County, GA; d. 15 Jul 1997; married (1st) ALLEN PORCHER HUBBARD, ON 20 JUN 1929, BULLOCH COUNTY, GA, b. 07 Jul 1903, South Carolina, d. Jun 1968, Jacksonville, Duval Co., FL (Burial: South Thompson Baptist Church Cemetery, Toombs County, Georgia). Many years after divorcing her 1st husband she married (2nd) CHARLES J. SCHENCK (1894-1981), who was also divorced. She had no children. Alice Nita Bowen is buried in Hillcrest Abbey East, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia beside her 2nd, and last, husband Charles J. Schenck.
xi. EDNA LOREE BOWEN, b. 26 Aug 1907, Bulloch County, GA; d. Jan 1987, Norfolk, Norfolk City, Virginia. Burial Rosewood Memorial Park, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
xii. MARY JANE BOWEN, b. 22 Oct 1909, Bulloch County, GA; d. 03 Oct 1989, Candler County, Georgia. Burial in Old Anderson Church Cemetery, Collins, Tattnall County, Georgia.
xiii. LILLIE MILDRED BOWEN, b. 22 Aug 1912, Bulloch County, Georgia, d. 15 Oct 1993, Garden City, Chatham County, GA. Burial in Hillcrest Abbey East, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.

*This biography is a Work In Progress and will be updated from time to time until completed. Written by William Kenneth Bowen, nephew of Uncle LESTER, grandson of Alfred Jackson Bowen, SR. and son of Alfred Jackson "A J" Bowen, JR., Thursday, March 19, 2015.