Barbara Lew Bowlus Hoecker

Barbara Lew Bowlus Hoecker was born on January 2, 1936 and went to heaven on January 19, 2026, having lived 90 years on earth.

She was born in Frederick, Maryland and died in Edison, New Jersey, living the last 15 years of her life at the latter.

She was the only child of Emmert and Lorene Bowlus of Frederick. She graduated from Frederick High School and then matriculated at Oberlin College in Ohio, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Government in 1958. She later received a Master’s degree in educational counseling from Brockport State University in New York.

She married David Christian Hoecker and spent the initial years of her marriage in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where she taught school. The couple moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland where they served as missionaries for the Lutheran Church of America. They returned to the United States to serve Lutheran churches in Fairfax County, Virginia and Rochester, New York. She retired after a career teaching in the Greece (New York) school system.

She is survived by three children, Eric Hoecker (Ivonne), Jon Hoecker (Mary Ellen) and Johanna Hoecker (Evan Gray) and six grandchildren (Nicholas, Jenna, Troy, Christian, Skylar and Ronan).

Family and friends can gather at the Pleasant View Church of the Brethren, 6213 Picnic Woods Road, Jefferson, MD 21755, on Friday January 23, 2026, from 9:30 am until the start of the funeral service at 10am. Interment to follow at church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barbara’s name to the church.