Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 4

letter
from
the
editor

o

n the night of April 29, 1977, Margie Bowers ’75 was brutally stabbed

to death in her Oak Park apartment by a man whom she scarcely knew,
but feared.*
The murderer should have been in jail. Previously arrested for

another killing, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sent

to a residential facility and later released after having been deemed
mentally sound. The deplorable failure of the criminal justice system
to protect Margie resulted in a public outcry. News coverage went
nationwide; television cameras, lights, and reporters flanked the outside
of the church at her funeral.

Editor
Georgia I. Douglass ’70, M.A. ’94
Editorial Consultant
Katherine Halberstadt Anderson ’90
Director of Marketing Communications
Kimberly Medaglia
Design Consultants
Alice Isoz Chrismer ’70
Ellen Mardock
Chrismer + Mardock Communication
Class News Editor
Donna Antoniuk
Editorial Adviser
Dr. R. Mark Dillon

As a result of Margie’s death, Illinois laws were rewritten to better
protect the rights of victims and society at large. Today, a murder
suspect who pleads insanity can be found “guilty but insane,” giving
judges the option, when appropriate, of ordering a prison sentence
along with treatment.
Margie began life on April 12, 1952, in Liberia, the little sister to
four older brothers (Louis, Robert ’61, Paul ’63, and Tom). She was a
delight to her missionary parents, Louis and Virginia McQuilkin Bowers
’36. Margie loved singing, reading, and playing the guitar. A literature
Georgia I. Douglass
’70, M.A. ’94
Editor

major at Wheaton, this MK was drawn toward leadership in the Student
Missionary Project. After graduating from Wheaton, she spent a year
serving in Liberia and then took a job at Moody Press in Chicago.
This issue of Wheaton includes an article about alumni, faculty, and
staff who have been involved in producing the Bible in many languages
and formats. Translators and sales reps, accountants and copyeditors,
warehousemen and designers—countless numbers of the Wheaton
family have worked in many different ways to publish the Word of God
worldwide. Unfortunately, most are unknown to us. I write about my
friend Margie so you can know her.
Margie was a manuscript editor for The Ryrie Study Bible when

Wheaton Alumni Association
President
Christopher A. Jahns ’82
President-Elect
Kurt Tillman ’78
Executive Director
Cindra Stackhouse Taetzsch ’82
Professor Emeritus
Leroy H. Pfund ’49
Alumni Trustee Representatives
Christopher A. Jahns ’82
Kurt Tillman ’78
Timothy A. Stoner ’82
Wheaton College
President
Dr. Philip G. Ryken ’88
Provost
Dr. Stanton L. Jones
Vice President for Finance
Dale A. Kemp
Vice President for Student
Development
Paul O. Chelsen ’91
Vice President for Advancement
and Alumni Relations
Dr. R. Mark Dillon

I worked for her as a freelance proofreader. She gained my respect for

Executive Assistant

her intelligence and abilities, and I loved her sweet spirit, humor,

to the President
Marilee A. Melvin ’72

and encouragement. Although her work on the study Bible was left

Wheaton is published autumn, winter,

*For more of this story, read

unfinished, her contribution was nevertheless significant. Since

and spring by Wheaton College,

“Forgive, Not Forget: Murder

1978 more than 2.5 million copies have been sold around the world and

630/752-5779, and mailed free of charge

Victim’s Brother Finally Able

in several translations.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to

to Find Peace,” by Paul
Galloway. Chicago Tribune,
Sept. 30, 1992.

As a student at Wheaton, Margie wrote in her diary this, her prayer:
“To be a signet ring for God; to leave the imprint of Christ’s image when
pressed into the circumstances of life.”
Margie lived only 25 years. But in life—and in death—she left her
mark on society and the church, and on the hearts of family and friends.

2    W I N T E R   2 0 1 3

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Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 60187-5593.
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College’s commitment to biblical faith and
practice as expressed in our Statement of
Faith and Community Covenant. In fulfilling
this purpose, the magazine exercises
complete discretion over its form and content.
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www.wheaton.edu