AUBURN – Marian Rowe Bower, 87, also known as Mimi and Mernie, passed away at Schooner Estates on Saturday, March 21, with her loving family at her side.

She lived a full life and will be remembered by all for her dynamic personality and her great sense of humor.

She was born Marian Betina Rowe in Mechanic Falls on March 9, 1922, daughter of Ruth Haskell and Lendall Rowe. She graduated from Mechanic Falls High School in 1940, married Frank Myrick in 1941 and went to Bernard’s Hair School in Lewiston, where she graduated at the top of her class. She then opened and operated her own beauty shop in Mechanic Falls.

She married Phil Bower in 1952 and enjoyed a fairytale love affair marriage with him until his death 16 years later.

She was a member of the Eastern Star and the Women’s Literary Union in Auburn, and was a 50-plus year member of the Auburn Methodist Church on Park Avenue.

Marian was an avid golfer in her day, winning B flight at Fairlawn Golf Course, where she was a member. She was also an accomplished seamstress and knitter, and showered her family with the fruits of her labors. She always had a smile and a joke, right up to the end. She epitomized the “glass half full” and has imparted that attitude on all she encountered. Her family extends its undying gratitude to the Schooner Estate Residential Care staff, who, for the past seven years, have filled Marian’s days with love, laughter and amazing personal care.

She is survived by her daughter, Judy Nyberg and husband, Paul Nyberg, of Auburn, and her daughter, Candy Gleason and her husband, Doug Gleason, also of Auburn; grandchildren, Deanna Nyberg-Vincecruz, Karl Nyberg, Brian Gleason and Danny Gleason; great-grandchildren, Todd and Amy Nyberg, Lucas, Cody, and Owen Vincecruz, and Kelsey and Delaney Nyberg; and two stepsons, Philip Allen Bower of South Portland and James Claude Bower of Old Orchard.

She was predeceased by her husband, Philip Nichols Bower, in 1970; and by her grandson, Darren Nyberg, in 1996.