Chris Bowden Obituary

Celebration of Life 3688 West 12600 South, Riverton Utah
Tuesday Jul 29, 2025: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Chris passed away Tuesday, July 8th at his home in Murray, Utah. Born in Salt Lake City, on December 7, 1954 to Lawry J. Bowden and Mary Ellen Hill Bowden. Proceeded in death by wife, Carol Summerhays Bowden. Survived by fiancé Mary Jo Larson, sister NancyEllen Bowden Regier (husband Timothy Regier), brother James J. Bowden (wife Bobette Bowden), Nieces Whitney Anne Bowden (partner Vien Chantharath) and Emily Ellen Bowden Fenton (husband Ryan Fenton and son Beckham).
More is more describes Chris to a T. He was hands-down the most friendly and lovable person you'd ever meet. You would count yourself lucky for having the opportunity to cross paths with The Big Guy. This was the term of endearment he would give everyone he met whether it was a longtime friend or a complete stranger he met on a street or an elevator ride. His vivacious personality, contagious laugh and quick wit would make you instant friends.
Chris enjoyed life, every second of every day. A perfect evening for him would consist of a large table surrounded by friends, family and laughter. The table would be filled with all types of amazing foods, drinks and treats. It could range from caviar & champagne to a burger with potato salad. With Chris, every bite was savored and enjoyed as long as it was shared with loved ones.
Chris loved, loved, loved movies and musicals. The stereo or the television was constantly on when he was home and he was either quoting movie lines and dialog along with the movies he watched over and over again or he was singing show tunes in a very goofy way. He would always make you laugh till your sides ached. Chris also loved to dance and would do pretty much anything to make you smile. One fond remembrance was watching Dancing with the Stars with him. He would consider himself the head judge of the competition and made hilarious comments during each dance then yell at the judges for their incompetent final scores.
Our family was very proud of Chris when he earned his Eagle Scout badge while in Troop 83. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. It signifies a high level of achievement, leadership, and commitment to Scouting principles and the community. Fewer than 6% of Scouts achieve this rank, making it a significant accomplishment.
Chris grew up in a small farming community west of Rose Park. He was the eldest of three siblings, all 3 years apart. Living in a remote area, the three of us became best friends while growing up. Lucky for us we had young parents and a very close-knit family. We did everything together. We enjoyed camping, fishing, hunting and motorcycles. Every member of the family had a motorcycle and we would camp and/or ride every chance we could. As a family, we joined the Continental Motocross Association (CMA). The local bike club would organize and hold motocross races. Besides working at the races we would also compete and race. Chris also competed in cross country events, racing over 100 miles of Pony Express trails a day in the Utah desert. Chris, NancyEllen and James (Jim) worked together in several local motorcycle shops to earn money for bikes, parts and college.
Chris graduated from the University of Utah in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. With his degree he worked in the fields of Mechanical/Structural Engineering and Control Systems.
Chris met his wife Carol through his sister NancyEllen. Carol came to one of the Bowden family water-skiing outings and it was love at first sight for Chris. The three of them soon started to go disco dancing on the weekends. That quickly turned into just the two of them, as they started dating. After that, you would rarely ever see one without the other. Anyone could see that they truly loved and adored each other. They shared a successful forty-one year marriage and partnership.
Carol was ill for the last 15 years of her life. Chris was an amazing caregiver during those 15 years and his attentive care surely added extra years of quality life for her.
A short time after Carol's passing Chris found love again with Mary Jo Larson, a Cyprus High School classmate that he reconnected with on Facebook. Chris had a major crush on Mary Jo in High School but they never dated. They were in many of the Advanced Placement classes together, including Spanish. "She was the girl that got away" he used to say to us. It was wonderful to see him happy again and having a second chance to fall in love. Along with the love they shared, they enjoyed the company of Lilly, their dog who had a unique and complex relationship with Chris.
A Celebration of Life gathering and open house will be held in his honor from 6:00 pm to 8:00pm, on Tuesday, July 29th at Larkin Mortuary - Riverton, 3688 West 12600 South, Riverton, UT 84065.
We will all miss you Big Guy! Thank you for all the love and joy you brought us.