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Mr. Melvin Chesley Bowling of LaGrange and Fernandina Beach, Florida died at the home of his daughter in Fernandina Beach on May 4, 2021.

Mr. Bowling was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee to the late Clifford Taft Bowling and the late Esther Taylor Bowling. He proudly served in the United States Army. After receiving a master’s degree from Tennessee Tech, he began his career as a college professor. He moved to Albany, Georgia as a professor of science at Albany Junior College.

A member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church he served on the Vestry and as Junior Warden. An avid gardener, he enjoyed sharing his crops with his friends. He and his wife were faithful members of the LaGrange Shufflers Square Dance Club and served on the state board of the Georgia State Square Dance Association.

His survivors include his wife, Marjorie; his daughter, Catherine Tharin and her husband, Louis; daughter, Laura Lovejoy; her husband, Giles; grandchildren Chesley Lovejoy, Ian Lovejoy, Jake Lovejoy and his wife, Hannah; Jay Malone, Irina Shoat and her husband, Brian; Marina Tharin and Lydia Tharin; stepchildren Margaret Bartley and Michael Beard and his wife, Theresa; grandchildren Mallory Beard, Taylor Beard, Griffin Bartley and Grayson Bartley; four great grandchildren, three nephews and a niece.

A memorial service will be held for Mel Bowling at St. Marks Episcopal Church on Saturday, May 15, 2021, at 1 p.m. with interment in the church columbarium. The Rev. Allen Pruitt will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to the St. Marks Memorial Fund.