Jolynda Bowers

Jolynda Bowers, 66, passed away at Cone Hospital on May 21, 2026, after a brief illness. Funeral service will be held on August 29, late morning, at Buffalo Presbyterian Church followed by a Celebration of Life at the Gilliam family farm located at 2001 Gilliam Road, Sanford.

She was born on August 19, 1959 in Sanford, North Carolina to Lynda Gilliam Bowers and Robert J. (Bob) Bowers, Sr. She grew up in Sanford and attended Buffalo Presbyterian Church.

After graduating from Lee County Senior high school, Jolynda attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1981 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music. She later earned her Master’s Degree in Music from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1983 and served on the faculty of Millikin University from 1982 to 1984. She continued her private voice study with noted teachers in both Cincinnati and Texas.

Jolynda was a gifted mezzo-soprano, known for her warm and heartfelt performances. She performed professionally in numerous concerts and ensembles, including the Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Village Waytes - a cappella septet in Cincinnati. She also appeared as a soloist with the Illinois Opera Theater, Brevard Music Center Orchestra, Durham Civic Choral Society, Greensboro Oratorio Singers, Greensboro Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, and the Eastern Music Festival Symphony Orchestra.

Jolynda sang for numerous churches, including Holy Trinity in Greensboro and Knox Presbyterian in Cincinnati and graciously shared her talent during many family and friends’ life events. She was also a talented actress, performing the lead role in a production of The Church Basement Ladies at the Barn Dinner Theatre in 2011. She sang with the professional choral ensemble, Bel Canto Company in Greensboro from 1996 through 2020.

Her quick wit, spirited personality, broad smile and her impressive fashionable style attracted many friends and admirers. She had encyclopedic knowledge of decades of music and could recite the songwriter, the band, the approximate year and the lyrics of songs that pre-dated her birth, as well as opera arias in various languages. Jolynda was also a fierce competitor in Trivial Pursuit and any other game geared to stump most mortals. A great friend to many, Jolynda maintained close friendships in Texas, Illinois and Cincinnati through the years.

She met her husband, Scott Allen, in Cincinnati, Ohio, while they both worked at the University of Cincinnati Medical Associates. They were married in Sanford, North Carolina, on June 14, 1997 and made their home in Greensboro. Family was the most important part of Jolynda’s life, and she and Scott regularly spent time with relatives on the Gilliam family farm in Sanford.

Jolynda built a distinguished career in information management, serving as a Systems Project Leader at Moses Cone Hospital from 1996 until joining Syngenta Crop Protection in 1999. She dedicated more than two decades to Syngenta, where she worked as a Demand Manager until her retirement in December 2024.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Bob and Lynda Bowers.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Scott Allen; her brother, Robert J. (Bobby) Bowers, Jr. (Angie); her beloved niece, Audra Bowers; and her nephews, Heath Bowers (Shelby) and Cole Bowers.

Arrangements are being handled by Rogers Pickard Funeral Home in Sanford, NC. Memorials can be made to Holy Trinity Church Choir Fund 607 N. Greene St, Greensboro, NC 27401 or the non-profit Women Impacting Greensboro (WomenImpactingGreensboro@gmail.com).