Mary Bower Gandy

Mary Lee Vinson Bower Gandy, a resident of The Pines at Davidson, NC passed on Monday, September 2, 2019.  Born October 1, 1925 in Charleston, WV, she was the daughter of Mary Eugenia and Samuel Jay Vinson.  She graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in West Charleston.  She was elected Homecoming Queen in the class of 1943 and was a drum majorette.  She later attended Business School in Charleston, WV and married her high school sweetheart, James William (Bill), Bower, who was in the Army at the time.  They had two sons, William Randall (Randy) Bower & Stephen Lee (Steve) Bower.  She worked for 25 years as an administrative employee with the C&P Telephone Company in Charleston, WV.  Her lifelong hobby was dance, particularly ballet.  In March 1986, Bill & Mary Lee retired to Lake Norman, Troutman, NC.  They enjoyed retirement only to be cut short by the terminal illness of Bill in July 1989 after a long happy marriage.  She volunteered as a “pink lady” at Iredell Memorial Hospital and was elected President of the Troutman Garden Club.  She later married Phil M. Gandy, Sr., formerly of Charleston, WV, for 15 years until his death in October 2009.  Surviving family members are sons, William Randall (Randy) Bower & his wife Chris of Troutman, NC, and Dr. Stephen Lee Bower of Winston-Salem, NC & his wife Belinda, as well as 4 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.  Private services will be conducted at Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens, Tyler Mountain, WV.  Family requests that any memorials be made to Hospice of Charlotte in lieu of flowers.