ORRINGTON – Thelma Olive (Perkins) Bowden, 96, wife of the late Donald F. Bowden, died May 3, 2008, surrounded by her family at a Bangor health care facility. Born Oct. 5, 1911, at the family homestead on King’s Mountain, Mrs. Bow-den was the eldest child of Raymond L. and Gladys A. (Hillier) Perkins. She attended Orrington schools and graduated from Brewer High School in 1929. After graduating from Maine School of Commerce, which later became Husson College, Mrs. Bowden worked at Webber Motors, the local Ford dealership at the time. She married Donald F. Bowden in 1934 and moved to the farm adjoining that of her parents, which Mr. Bowden had purchased in 1932. They farmed for decades, raising dairy cows and beef cattle, vegetable crops, apples, wood products and six sons. In later years, Thelma and Donald delivered apples and their homemade cider to customers along a route that extended as far as Bradley, Milford and Old Town. Mrs. Bowden was active in both Orrington Center and Orrington Corner Methodist churches, and those who attended their suppers remembered her biscuits and pies. She was an 80-year member of Enterprise Grange No. 173. In 2007 Mrs. Bowden was recognized as Orrington’s eldest citizen and presented with the town’s Boston Post cane at a special ceremony hosted by the town selectmen. She was predeceased by her husband of 58 years in 1992; her sister, Beulah (Perkins) Bowden in 2006; and a son, Paul R. Bowden in 2007. Surviving are her sons, Richard L. Bowden and his wife, Charlene, of Eddington, Philip E. Bowden and his wife, Nancy, of Savannah, Ga., Barry Bowden and his wife, Dinah, of Pisgah Forest, N.C., Brian Bow-den and his wife, Darlene, of Orrington and Keith Bowden and his wife, Heather, of Windham; daughter-in-law, Patricia Bowden of Niantic, Conn.; 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; a sister, Jean-ette Durgain of Clarksdale, Ariz.; her brother, Raymond L. Perkins Jr. of Orrington; many nieces and nephews. Friends are welcome to call 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at Brookings-Smith, Clark-Piper Chapel, 55 South Main St., Bre-wer, where a funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 7. The family invites relatives and friends to share conversation and refreshments at Brookings-Smith Reception Rooms, 55 South Main St., Brewer, immediately after the service. Private interment will be held at a later date. Those who wish to remember Thelma in a special way may make gifts in her memory to First United Methodist Church, Orrington Corner Methodist Church, 14 Center Drive, Orrington, ME 04474.