Coronavirus claims at least 7 more veteran pastors, leaving churches to celebrate Easter in mourning
The Rev. Andrea Bowman of Grace Episcopal Church of Ellensburg became the first Kittitas County resident to die from complications related to the new coronavirus. She died at 4:15 p.m. on Palm Sunday at the University of Washington ICU unit in Seattle, the Daily Record reported.
“It is with great sadness that we share that the Rev. Dr. Andrea Bowman died yesterday from complications from the Covid-19 virus. She served faithfully for many years in our diocese. May she rest in peace and rise in glory,” the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane announced on Facebook Monday.
In an interview with Yakima Herald, Bowman’s longtime friend and former colleague, Dr. Linda Beath, remembered the pastor fondly.
“Andrea had a wicked sense of humor and a lot of joy in life,” Beath said. “I love to cook and bake. We were in a restaurant one time and I was talking about how she was never really enthused about really good food.
“She said, ‘food is food, but good food is better.’ That became one of our old mantras when things got tough. It was like ‘food is food, but good food is better’ would lighten the moment.”
