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Obituary

Obituary

Syble Louise Fowler, 87, with faith in Jesus, passed away after a long battle with heart and respiratory failures. She was preceded by her late husband and the love of her life, Ray Fowler Sr., after nearly 60 years of marriage. Syble’s story is not an uncommon one for Kern County but it is less often told. She was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and moved as a young child in the mid-1930s with her parents, Roderick and Minnie Nelms, and her brother, Royce, to the Bakersfield area. They were a poor farming family with hopes of finding a better life in California. Syble and her family initially lived in a tent in the Kern riverbed. Things did not work out for Syble and the Nelms family, and they moved to Missouri when she was eight years old. They returned to California permanently shortly after WWII ended. Syble attended Shafter High School and graduated in 1951. Later that same year, she married Ray. His family came to the Central Valley from Oklahoma in the mid-1930s, and eventually settled in Shafter. Syble and Ray had two sons. Ray Jr. arrived in 1953, and Douglas was born in 1954. In the mid-1960s, Syble, Ray Sr. and their two sons moved to Glendora, California. This is where Syble and her husband, who were children of the Dust Bowl, found success. She worked as a bookkeeper while raising her boys, and Ray Sr. owned and operated an outdoor advertising business. It was a long and challenging but satisfying journey from a tent in the Kern riverbed to the American dream. In 2002, Syble and her husband, now both retired, moved to Cookeville, Tennessee. In 2011, Ray Sr. passed away and Syble decided to return to Bakersfield. She did and she thoroughly enjoyed being with her family and friends, especially her girlfriends from Shafter High School. So, the little girl from Arkansas moved to California and made good, but most importantly, she remained a person of strong faith throughout her life. Syble is survived by her eldest son, Ray Fowler Jr. and daughter-in-law, Debra, plus grandson, Casey, and granddaughter, Tori, as well as Syble’s youngest son, Douglas Vaughn Fowler, and daughter-in-law, Lisa. Syble’s family also includes former daughter-in-law, Patty Mason Fowler, and Patty and Douglas’ son, Doug Fowler Jr., and daughter, Nicole. Doug Jr. and his wife, Diana, are raising Syble’s two beautiful great granddaughters, Camila and Abby Rae, in Southern California. The survivor list continues with nieces, nephews and their children, and Syble’s dear sister-in-law, Patricia Fowler, who currently resides in Texas. In lieu of flowers the family asks you consider a donation to The American Heart Association.