Kelly Bower

Raqual “Kelly” Bower, born in Bismarck, North Dakota, left us on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at the completely unfair age of 53 after a five-week battle with metastatic breast cancer. Kelly was a voracious reader from a young age, and her love of books led to a lifelong passion for learning. Kelly's education began at Telfer Rural School, and she graduated from Century High School in Bismarck in 1989. She went on to earn a degree in biology from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks in 1995, and soon after moved to Minneapolis to begin her 27-year-long career as a research scientist and lab manager at the University of Minnesota, specializing in cell and molecular biology. For years the U of M allowed staff to take classes for free, which she took great advantage of, studying anything from mathematics to singing. Exploring the idea of becoming an educator herself, Kelly pursued a master’s degree in science education at Teacher’s College of Columbia University in New York from 2001 to 2003.

A chance meeting at a party on June 29, 2002 when Kelly was visiting Minneapolis led to a 22-year-long relationship with her future spouse, Jonathan Casey. His public library career and tabby Moo Shu were big selling points, given her interests. Jonathan’s undeniable allure, coupled with her waning enthusiasm for the New York City Public Schools, brought her back to Minneapolis and the Porter lab at the U of M, where she spent most of her career.

Kelly and Jonathan moved into an Uptown apartment in 2004, adopted a panda cat they named Beaker in 2007, and bought a house together in the Howe neighborhood in 2008. Heartbreakingly, both of their cats died within a week of each other in May 2017. Their grief may have caused them to overcorrect by adopting four cats that September, whom they named Fitz, Jemma, Maeby, and Toothless. Kelly was well-known for her love of cats, which perhaps bordered on obsession. A lover of animals in general, she was also a frequent visitor of zoos and aquariums.

Kelly enjoyed a large variety of hobbies as the years went on, especially gardening, yoga, knitting, drumming, biking, and jogging, with forays into soapmaking, quilting, guitar, and coding. Her athletic endeavors included three half-marathons, the MS150, a duathlon, and countless 5Ks. She volunteered for Team Ortho for several years at the height of her running days. Her love of gardening and environmental stewardship led to winning a grant from the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water "Lawns to Legumes" habitat project in 2023, which she and Jonathan used to transform much of their yard into a pollinator-friendly space. They were supporters of the local jazz scene and could frequently be spotted at shows prior to 2020.

A diagnosis of breast cancer in July 2021 brought about change and uncertainty in Kelly’s life. A lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation into spring 2022 briefly reduced her level of activity, but that soon changed when she joined the Minnesota Dragon Boat Club, which she focused much of her energy on in her final years as a paddler, steer, and board member. As someone incredibly generous with her time, Kelly also volunteered with the Firefly Sisterhood, helping counsel those newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Circumstances required Kelly to shift out of her research lab into a new field, so she began her role as Oceasoft Alarm Monitoring Services Program Manager in Research Facility Support Services at the U of M in 2023.

In April 2024, Kelly began having intermittent mobility difficulty, thought to have been caused and exacerbated by several injuries. It almost prevented Kelly and Jonathan from attending their favorite music festival, the Merge Records 35th anniversary in Carrboro, North Carolina that July. She made that trip, and also traveled to Florida, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, and paddled in three dragon boat festivals in August and September. A physical therapist suggested Kelly use a cane in hopes of relieving some of her pain and difficulty walking, and recommended an X-ray, which Kelly delayed until October, as she was preparing for a two-week vacation in Europe. Only missing out on a few activities, Kelly trekked through Venice, Slovenia, and Croatia with Jonathan and four friends with a giant smile on her face. Only in the last two nights was she feeling a bit unwell, but a cold was circulating among her travel companions and all were tired at that point. Sadly, the X-ray on October 10 showed signs of cancer in her right hip. By the following Tuesday it was determined that cancer had metastasized in her bones and liver, and on Wednesday, October 16, her oncologist gave her the grim prognosis of one to two weeks to live. Her doctor was shocked that Kelly had made it through the trip and only reported a pain level of 3 out of 10 when she was first examined.

Kelly’s superhuman strength and positive attitude carried through most of her final weeks, during which she sought treatments until none were available. She was able to spend time with friends and family, having thankfully been given enough time to say goodbye to many. Fittingly, Kelly opted to enroll in the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program, where she will continue to do good for the world even after death. She was loved as a daughter of Jim and Dorothy, granddaughter of Carol, sister of Will and Shyla, Becky and Paige, and Wes and Julie, aunt of Maddy, Aubrey and Grayden, and friend and colleague of many. It is no exaggeration to say that the world has suffered a great loss.

Kelly was a brilliant, hardworking, excellent problem solver. There wasn't anything she wouldn't try to fix by enthusiastically dismantling. She was patient and caring through Jonathan’s mental health challenges. She loved all forms of storytelling. Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde were just a few of her favorite authors. In some of her favorite movies and shows, music saved the day ("Step Brothers," "Napoleon Dynamite") or characters showed kindness to one another ("Parks and Recreation," "Ted Lasso"). She also loved wordplay and witty banter, and as such Kelly and Jonathan watched “The Thin Man” or “The Hudsucker Proxy” around Christmas and New Year’s Eve annually. Her knowledge of 70s country and 80s pop lyrics was legendary. She entertained Jonathan and her (sometimes alarmed) cats with improvised songs and dances. Kelly was a big ol’ goof who mostly shrugged this whole thing off, but was deeply empathetic to others’ grief.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 2 and the Hook & Ladder Theater from 5-9pm, including a concert at 6pm. Invitations will be available in January. Please use this event as an opportunity to meet other people who've been touched by Kelly, share your favorite stories, enjoy food and drinks and some of her favorite local jazz musicians.

Donations for memorial and medical costs are welcome here: https://gofund.me/06f293d8

To contribute to Meal Train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/kdvq0v

Those interested are also free to attend the Anatomy Bequest Program Service of Gratitude on Northrop Mall, June 7, 2025.