Lyle Bowen was born on September 20, 1927, in Salem, Idaho, to Grant Reese Bowen and Guinevere Lucy Jensen Bowen (Lucy). He was born at home, and was the fourth of eleven children. “My boyhood days were happy days and I always stayed close to my angel mother and a wonderful father who taught me truth.”
The written history of Lyle’s early life (from 1927 until about 1945) is available here. Select favorite stories are below.
Falling out of the family car, age 4: “It was during the great depression of the early 30s and Dad and Mother and Morrell and I climbed into the old Chevrolet car and headed for Sugar City, where Dad had a few dollars in the bank. We arrived there and learned that the banks in the country had gone broke and were in financial difficulty. We got back into the old Chevy and started for Rexburg. As we rounded the corner just out of Sugar City, I reached over and attempted to close the back door that was slightly open. The old-style cars had the back doors mounted so, that when they opened, the wind would catch them. I was holding on to the handle and the door pulled me out and I landed on my head on the oiled road. The car was going about 40 miles an hour, so I just lay there on the highway. Dad told me later that he picked me up in his arms and said, “O Lord, my God, please do not let him die.” I remember we were in Dr. Rigby’s office before I came to. Mother was holding me tightly in her arms. Mother was trying to revive me by giving me a drink of root beer. I was about 4 years old, when this happened. I had a lump on my neck for many years. I was brought back to life through the power of the Priesthood from a righteous father and a mother that loved me more than life itself.”
Preparing for baptism, age 7: “I recall that several days prior to my baptism I had prayed to my Heavenly Father that I would be able to quit swearing. It was always quite a temptation on the farm where you were always working with animals to get in that habit. However, I never did take the name of the Lord in vain. I was bringing the cows home from the pasture to milk one evening and suddenly a young calf darted into the underbrush trying to get away from the herd. I quickly followed him on my pony and as I got into the heavy underbrush, a willow whipped me across the face and I let out a swear word in my disgust and anger. Then I remembered that I had asked the Lord to help me quit swearing before I was baptized. I remember getting off my horse and getting down there in the willows and asking the Lord to help me quit swearing and I promised him that I would never swear again. I have kept that promise to the Lord to this day.”
Candy bar with best friend Max Mortensen, age 12 or 13: “I recall when I was in the seventh grade and my friend Max Mortensen had a dime. We went up to the little grocery store just above the school grounds in Sugar City and he bought a dime’s worth of candy. I still remember how good that Snickers candy bar was that he gave me.”