Stienstra Dorothea

In Loving Memory of Dorothea Linda Stienstra December 14, 1943-September 3, 2025

It is with deep love and sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend: Dorothea Linda Stienstra. She passed away peacefully on September 3rd in St. George, Utah, where she spent the last several years of her life supported by family and her caring and dedicated support staff. While in St. George, she reconnected with an old friend from her past while making new ones during her stay.

Linda was born in Hilo, Hawai’i on December 14, 1943. She spent her formative years living at her maternal grandparents’ home, as well as living in housing at a sugar plantation. In 1951, the family moved to Guam before finally settling in Riverside, California in 1956. Linda graduated from Ramona High School in 1961 and married her high school sweetheart, Gregory William Bowman, in 1962. From this marriage, she had two children: William Blaine and Meredith Paige.

The 1970s were spent having adventures with her daughter and son. During this time, she imparted her deep love of music to her children. Additionally, she engaged in a two week road trip in 1974 that was poorly planned, even more poorly financed, and yet was a memorable and cherished experience for all!

In 1979, she married James Stienstra and started another phase of her life, learning that she had a creative spark that would follow her for the rest of her life.

Linda spent the 1990s in Tehachapi, California, attending to her crafting endeavors and acting as an ever-present pillar of strength for Paige and her children, Michael and Hallie. She spent many joyful hours volunteering in school classrooms and attending school functions, club functions, as well as for on-call childcare and mentoring.

In the early 2000s, she moved to southern Pennsylvania, where she immersed herself in her last big passion: genealogy. She spent countless hours in libraries, town halls, courthouses, and graveyards in pursuit of long lost (and sometimes forgotten) ancestors.

She was creative, strong, and deeply caring - a woman who expressed love through action. She found joy in baking and creating beautiful things with her hands such as quilts and baskets. Her endeavors filled her home with warmth, love, and numerous blue ribbons from county fairs as a result of her quilting excellence. To add, her passion for genealogy led to many years of dedicated work for the Lancaster County Historical Society. Her quiet strength, kindness, and commitment to her family left a lasting impact on all who knew her.

She is survived by her son, Wm. Blaine Bowman, and his wife, Elaine; her daughter, Meredith Paige Moffatt, and her husband, Chris; and her step-son, Scott Fisher. She was a devoted grandmother to Michael Foster (wife Shelbie), Hallie Watkins (husband Peter), and Wm. Ellis Bowman, and a proud great-grandmother to many. She is also survived by her brother, Wm Francis “Bud” Sherman IV, and her sister, Priscilla Sherman Plorin.

She was preceded in death by her father, William Francis Sherman III, her mother, Catherine Lindgren Sherman, and her loving husband, James Stienstra and his son Timothy Fisher.

Her legacy lives on in the hearts of those she loved and those who loved her. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered.