Mikie Bowman

God, this day was never a surprise to you. You knew that today, just one day short of his 59th birthday, Mikie Bowman, was going to come back home to you. And today all of your angels encamped around him, likely began to sing and shout. They probably shouted something like, "Welcome home Mikie. Weve missed you very much. You are free at last." They probably sang happy songs songs of great gladness and joy. And they probably danced too.
Of course the cause for all of this excitement was that Mikie was finally free of all the chains that had bound him during his stay on earth. His life of Down Syndrome, autism, epilepsy and his psychosis had been traded in for a new life one of joy with speech to sing and talk, one with sure and sturdy arms and legs to run and dance, one free of all the noises and things that scared him during the night.
We, his brother and sister, watched him for all of his 58 years, 364 days. We were amazed at the strength and determination with which he met each day. And, most of all we were awed by his joy and his zest for life.
At the end of a long agonizing day as were waiting for the funeral home to come and take Mikies body, his nurse came in to "toe tag" him (for real), and said the funeral home wanted to know if Mikie had any valuables and if so, wanted us to take them home with us. We couldnt help but be struck by the irony of this question. We told the nurse that Mikie never had a penny in his pocket, never had a key to anything, never a wallet never anything. He never even knew if he had food or clothes (which he hated) or shelter. He just was. He spent his whole day smiling. He had a smile that could light up a whole room. He just smiled. He had smiles to give for anyone who wanted one or needed one. He never had anything yet he was the richest man we ever knew. He had a huge heart and trusted that everything would be taken care of. He just took whoevers hand was reaching out for him and went forward walking in peace and incredible faith.
We are the better for having been allowed to share this part of his life, for having been the recipients of his smiles. Nothing we ever did or could ever do could have earned us this amazing gift.
We will miss him we already do but feel certain that he is relishing in reunion with our mom and dad and all the relatives, some crazy and some not so crazy - like Julia Sugarbaker said on Designing Women, "We dont ask if the relatives are crazy, we just ask whose side they are on".
We, his brother, Richard and sister Kathy will forever mourn his absence but eagerly anticipate our reunion with Mikie. Sharing in the loss of Mikies presence are assorted nieces and nephews and all the friends Mikie made during his brief sojourn on earth.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.muehlebachchapel.com
Visitation will be held on Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Muehlebach Funeral Chapel, 6800 Troost, KCMO with the Service being held on Wednesday at Noon. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.muehlebachchapel.com
God, this day was never a surprise to you. You knew that today, just one day short of his 59th birthday, Mikie Bowman, was going to come back home to you. And today all of your angels encamped around him, likely began to sing and shout. They probably shouted something like, "Welcome home Mikie. Weve missed you very much. You are free at last." They probably sang happy songs songs of great gladness and joy. And they probably danced too.
Of course the cause for all of this excitement was that Mikie was finally free of all the chains that had bound him during his stay on earth. His life of Down Syndrome, autism, epilepsy and his psychosis had been traded in for a new life one of joy with speech to sing and talk, one with sure and sturdy arms and legs to run and dance, one free of all the noises and things that scared him during the night.
We, his brother and sister, watched him for all of his 58 years, 364 days. We were amazed at the strength and determination with which he met each day. And, most of all we were awed by his joy and his zest for life.
At the end of a long agonizing day as were waiting for the funeral home to come and take Mikies body, his nurse came in to "toe tag" him (for real), and said the funeral home wanted to know if Mikie had any valuables and if so, wanted us to take them home with us. We couldnt help but be struck by the irony of this question. We told the nurse that Mikie never had a penny in his pocket, never had a key to anything, never a wallet never anything. He never even knew if he had food or clothes (which he hated) or shelter. He just was. He spent his whole day smiling. He had a smile that could light up a whole room. He just smiled. He had smiles to give for anyone who wanted one or needed one. He never had anything yet he was the richest man we ever knew. He had a huge heart and trusted that everything would be taken care of. He just took whoevers hand was reaching out for him and went forward walking in peace and incredible faith.
We are the better for having been allowed to share this part of his life, for having been the recipients of his smiles. Nothing we ever did or could ever do could have earned us this amazing gift.
We will miss him we already do but feel certain that he is relishing in reunion with our mom and dad and all the relatives, some crazy and some not so crazy - like Julia Sugarbaker said on Designing Women, "We dont ask if the relatives are crazy, we just ask whose side they are on".
We, his brother, Richard and sister Kathy will forever mourn his absence but eagerly anticipate our reunion with Mikie. Sharing in the loss of Mikies presence are assorted nieces and nephews and all the friends Mikie made during his brief sojourn on earth.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.muehlebachchapel.com
Visitation will be held on Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Muehlebach Funeral Chapel, 6800 Troost, KCMO with the Service being held on Wednesday at Noon. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.muehlebachchapel.com



SERVICES Visitation
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Muehlebach Funeral Home 6800 Troost Avenue Kansas City, Missouri
Funeral Service
Wednesday, March 29, 2017 12:00 PM
Muehlebach Funeral Home 6800 Troost Avenue Kansas City, Missouri
Graveside Service
Wednesday, March 29, 2017 1:15 PM
Mount St. Mary's Cemetery 2201 Cleveland Avenue Kansas City, MO