Nathan Bowen

Nathan Seth Bowen, 15, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Monday, August 30, 2021, after a courageous ten-month battle with cancer. Nathan was born August 1, 2006 in Kingsport. Nathan accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior at a church sponsored Royal Ranger’s Pinewood Derby competition at Living Praise Assemblies of God in 2010. Nathan was baptized a few weeks later at Kingsport First Assemblies of God where his family attended church at the time. Nathan carried his faith with him throughout his life, especially throughout his sickness.

Nathan attended Providence Academy in Johnson City from Kindergarten through 4th grade. He was an avid sports fan who loved to play basketball and baseball, but his true passion was football. Nathan started football in the Lynn Garden Pee Wee League at the age of 5, playing on this league for the next four years. For most of his time in this league, Nathan played for the Raiders and was coached by Tyler Brooks, Jerry Gott, Kevin Goins and Steven Duty. He also played in the fall league at Bloomingdale.

At the age of 10, Nathan moved with his family to Michigan. While there, Nathan attended 5th, 6th and 7th grades at Calvary Christian Academy in Brownstown, MI. He had a special place in his heart for Pastor KC Richey and Sister Joanie Richey who leads the church and school program. Nathan was a charter member of the 16:13 club which is an extracurricular club set up by the pastor to lead boys to become strong men in Jesus Christ. Nathan was able to learn and grow based on the foundational Bible verse principles of the club: I Corinthians 16:13, “[13] Be on guard; stand firm in your faith [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and be courageous; be strong. [14] Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God's love for us].” Through this teaching and with the help of the Lord, Nathan exemplified this verse in his daily walk, especially while battling cancer. While at Calvary Christian Academy, Nathan played on various community leagues for basketball, travel baseball and football, since the school had no organized sports program.

In 2019 Nathan expressed a strong desire to his family to play on a school sports team and, after much contemplation on leaving Calvary Christian Academy; Nathan’s parents sold their home in Monroe, MI and enrolled him at Lenawee Christian School in Adrian, MI. Nathan deeply loved and respected the LCS Cougar team and was proud to be a member. Nathan played the wide receiver position until he was diagnosed with a brain tumor on November 4, 2020. In addition to his love for sports, Nathan was on the honor roll at LCS, finishing his 2020-2021 school year with a 3.85 GPA. After the diagnosis, both his school and his football team rallied around Nathan in an indescribable way and supported his battle with cancer. He received calls, visits, cards, care packages, fundraisers and many earnest, heartfelt prayers from the faculty, staff and students.

In addition to his love for football, Nathan was an enthusiastic Xbox player and he relished his time spent with friends playing Fortnite and Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

Nathan was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents John and Jamie Bowen of Clinchport, VA and maternal grandfather Beecher James Welch, Jr of Kingsport, TN

Nathan is survived by his parents, Tim and Teresa Bowen of Jacksonville, Alabama; brother Chase (Lindsey) Hamly of Kingsport, TN; sister Tessa (Anthony) Palumbo of Kingsport, TN; nephews Dawson, Rowan & Nixon; maternal grandmother Patricia Welch of Kingsport, TN; Uncles and Aunts Ricky (Teresa) Bowen, Church Hill, TN; Sherry Tjongakiet Belicza (Richard Antonio) of Frederick, MD; Ricky (Denise) Welch of Kingsport; Tammy Hulse of Kingsport; BJ (Cindy) Welch of Kingsport; several cousins including a very special cousin, Hunter Hulse, who was like a brother to Nathan; special best friend from Michigan, Jordan Vannice, with whom he went to school at both Calvary Christian Academy and Lenawee Christian School. He also had two special Chihuahua mix dogs, Lucky and Lucy and a special cat named Rex.

The family will receive friends Saturday, September 4, 2021 from 12 to 2pm at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport. Funeral service will be conducted the funeral home chapel at 2pm. Entombment service will be held following at Oak Hill Memorial Park Mausoleum. Pallbearers will be selected from family and friends.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at University of Michigan Mott’s Children’s Hospital; Niswonger Children’s Hospital; Ballad Hospice, especially his nurses Nicky and Hope; CNAs Angie and Skye; and, Andrew, his physical therapist. Much appreciation to those who sent the family cards, letters, prayer cloths, gifts and donations to the GoFundMe so that the family could comfortably stay in Kingsport during Nathan’s sickness. A special thanks for the thousands of prayers spoken on the family’s behalf and directly for Nathan.

For those wishing to view his funeral service, live streaming will be available @hamlettdobson.com. Go to his obituary and scroll down to the live stream link.

Memorial contributions can be made to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, www.stjude.org/donatetoday or mail to 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Or since Nathan had a special affinity for sports and disabled children, donations can also be made to support.specialolympics.org or mail to 461 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204.