Anne Bowen Follis, 76, of Nokomis, died Aug. 28, 2023, in Nokomis, surrounded by family after fighting a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
Services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Crosspoint Church, located at 400 S. Pleasant Hill Rd., in East Peoria. A visitation will begin at 10 a.m. with a memorial service to follow at 11 a.m. Mrs. Follis requested bright colors and balloons at her funeral because, in her words, “my funeral is not a sad occasion; it’s a party for my homecoming with Jesus.”
Mrs. Follis was born on Aug. 22, 1947, to Don and Leona Bowen in Albany, NY. She was educated in Cherry Hill, NJ and attended Houghton College for one year before returning home to work as a secretary. She married Daniel Dean Follis on Aug. 24, 1968. The two moved to Illinois and began what would become over 50 years in ministry together.
Mrs. Follis was passionate about sharing the love of Jesus with others. She spent her life working alongside her husband in ministry. Mrs. Follis was a leader in churches throughout central Illinois. She was a student and teacher of the Bible and she loved to worship her Savior in song as a worship leader.
In the 1970s, Mrs. Follis became a leader for the ERA movement and was a founding member and president emerita of HERA, Homemaker’s Equal Rights Association. She became a national speaker and was featured on talk shows, at state legislatures, and radio stations across the country. Mrs. Follis wrote the bestseller, I’m Not a Woman’s Libber, But… in 1981. She later returned to school and graduated from Blackburn College with a degree in English. Mrs. Follis owned her own resume business, Career Pro, in Peoria for 20 years. She published the book, How to Power Pack Your Job Search in 1997. She retired in 2010 to spend more time with her family and grandchildren.
In addition to her beloved husband, Dean, Mrs. Follis is survived by two children, Troy (Abby) Follis and Ryan (Tara) Follis of Nokomis and eight grandchildren. Always a kid at heart, she was a proud mother and cherished her time with her family.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, Megan Jean McQuellon, who died in 2015.
Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church in Nokomis to support future Women in Ministry. Online condolences can be left at stiehldawsonfh.com.
