Rex Bower was born in a two-bedroom farmhouse west of Ashland, NE on October 3, 1931, where he was raised with his brother and three sisters.  The first in his family to go to college, he was quick witted, a lifelong student of the Scriptures, a fierce protector of his family, generous almost to a fault and competitive in cards, marbles and pool.  Most importantly he was dedicated to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Patricia Louise Jones entered his life at an event “in a park in the dark” as he liked to tell. Rex’s passing came just shy of their 68^th anniversary on September 8^th.  They raised three children: Jennifer Miller (David), Matthew Bower and Amy Blahnik.  Then along came grandchildren Lesley Bretey (Reuben), Melissa Miller, Ramsey Blahnik (Reed), Gabriele Zapata (Joel), Steven Bower, Jessica Blahnik, Line Bower and Zachary Blahnik plus four great grandchildren, Ella, Nathan, Cooper and Adeline.

Rex received an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Nebraska in December 1955 and went to work for Consumers Public Power District in Kearney, Nebraska. Following promotions to Beatrice and then Lincoln he left in 1969 to form Engineering Consultants, a design engineering firm to pioneer rural underground power.  He became the first to design a high voltage transmission line across Nebraska, and consequently formed Utility Construction to install the power cables.  Later in the 1990’s he pioneered injections to extend the life of the cables.   He will be remembered for his influence on the lives of his many workers along the way.

Known for his leadership first as President of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at UNL then as one of the founding members of the Evangelical Free Church in Lincoln.  Over the years at E Free he taught Sunday School and was a deacon and building committee chairman. Stonecroft Ministries tagged him to be the first Chairman of Christian Couples Club in Lincoln. Later he was chairman of the board for Lincoln Crisis Pregnancy Center.   In his seventies he began volunteering for International Student Fellowship. He enjoyed working with multicultural students through dinners and Bible studies in his home as well as airport chauffeuring.  He led Bible studies in the UNL Selleck Quadrangle as a student and then over 60 years later came back to do it again for internationals.

Rex had a hunger for knowledge and read the dictionary through as a high school student.  Later, as a patient at UNL Student Health Center, he read the New Testament in one sitting and said, “either I believe, or it is all a lie”.  He chose to believe and spent his life sharing the Gospel and encouraging others to study and reach a conclusion about God for their own lives.

There are many memories of him the family will cherish. They range from drivers ed for 12-year-old kids and grandkids on the back roads of Nebraska to time on the family farm with all the cousins. Lessons in life during whatever project he was working on.  Family game time late into the night.  Christmas around the advent wreath reliving the nativity before presents. Today we celebrate that he is in heaven enjoying what he spent his life looking forward to – the presence of God.

Rex spent the last year of his life in Topeka, KS to be near the next generations of family and enjoyed finding a new community at Lexington Park Independent Living Center.

On September 5, 2024, awaiting Rex in heaven were his parents Ray (Jack) and Violet Bower, as well as his siblings and their spouses, Everett and Marjorie Bower, Mary Lou and Dwight Jameson, Ina and Ron Grebe, Ethel and Keith Pollard.