Gary Roland Bowers, age 57, of Littlestown, PA, passed away peacefully at his home on August 14, 2026, surrounded by family. After a two-year battle with prostate cancer, he is now worshipping at the feet of Jesus.
He leaves behind his heart on earth with his loving wife, Julie, of 36 years, and children: Nathan Bowers and wife Shelby, Nick Bowers and wife Melanie, and Hannah Mosemann and husband David.
In his heavenly home, he is reuniting with his father, Roland Bowers, sister, Cindy Tolbert, brother, Dean Bowers, mother-in-law, Sandy Conrad, and brother-in-law David Hagans. He is survived by his mother, Carolyn Bowers; brother Brian Bowers and wife Marie; and sister Dianne Thees and husband Mike.
He was doting Pap Pap to Liam (8), Ava (4), Aurora (4), Michaela (4), Lillee (2), and Jackson (due in November), who carries his namesake. At family gatherings, when the adults could be found sitting in the family room talking, the grandkids could always count on Pap Pap to be the one playing on the floor with them. Whether it be cheering for soccer games, catching them at the end of the big slides, reading a million and one books, playing hide and seek for the umpteenth time, sending videos back and forth, or having silly-face-making competitions, those kids all had him wrapped around their finger, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way. He spent his last good days sitting and watching his grandkids play, and nothing brought him greater joy.
Above all else, Gary loved his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and devoted his life to sharing the good news of the Gospel with anyone and everyone he met. In 1988, he first felt the Lord impress on his heart to preach, so he surrendered to that calling and never looked back. He and Julie packed their bags and moved to Little Rock, AR, so he could attend the Missionary Baptist Seminary. After completing his bachelor’s in Bible Languages and Master’s in theology, he pastored New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Amity, Arkansas. But having grown up in Chambersburg, he knew he always wanted to come back to rural Pennsylvania. When God brought him to the area, he started First Baptist Church of Littlestown, where he remained the Lead Pastor until his passing. Through over 30 years of ministry, preaching, teaching, and shepherding those around him, many called him pastor, mentor, and friend.
If Gary wasn’t with his family or church family, you could find him on the golf course or enjoying a football game, especially when his beloved Steelers were playing. He spent many a summer at the campground with his family, winning a cornhole tournament, making dinner over the fire, and enjoying hand-churned ice cream with his own homemade peanut butter sauce. Gary and Julie also enjoyed a cruise on special occasions, with their favorite destination being anywhere in the Caribbean. Notably, he was also the dogs’ favorite person, as those good boys could always rely on him for a lap to cuddle on and some pizza crust to be shared.
There was nothing broken that he couldn’t fix or new asset he couldn’t build, be it Julie’s shiplap design dreams come true, Nate’s backyard BBQ deck of his dreams, Nick’s addition to his house when he found out he was having twins, or Hannah’s beautiful bathroom vanity that happened to need to be mounted around pipes at her new house. Likewise, there was no car trouble he couldn’t solve, be it upgrading Julie’s ride after a deer encounter, building Nate’s custom right-hand drive vehicle for post office work, flipping cars from auction with Nick, helping Hannah get her first car, using his car stethoscope to diagnose a strange noise on David’s car, or even upgrading his own wheels to a minivan so he could transport all his grandkids.
If Gary were here today, he would tell you that he praises the Lord for carrying him through this journey and gifting him 57 beautiful years of life. He would invite you to share in the hope of Heaven with him by inviting Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life. He would also encourage you to find a church to call home. He’d assure you that there’s at least one seat open in the front row, his favorite place to sit, at First Baptist Church of Littlestown.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, August 20, from 4:00-6:00 p.m., followed immediately by a Celebration of Life Service at 6:00 pm at First Baptist Church of Littlestown, 5015 Baltimore Pike, Littlestown, PA 17340.
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