Obituary of Louvinia Sarah Templeman

On Saturday, January 13, 2018, Louvinia Sarah Templeman, aka “the hat lady”, lost her battle with life.  She was the daughter of the late Mary Alice Thomas Bush and was born in Budds Creek, MD, on June 17, 1924.  She was baptized into the Catholic faith and received her early education in the St. Mary’s County Public School System.  Upon the early demise of her mother, Louvinia took a job at the Patuxent Naval Air Station to help support her sisters and brothers.   She primarily made her living as a cook, having also worked at the Cheltenham School for Boys, for Major General Leigh Wade and his wife  Mrs. Helen Wade , and finally at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Washington, DC, from which she was retired due to failing health.  During her years of employment, Louvinia continued her education by taking classes at night school in Washington, DC.

A prayerful woman, Louvinia was known to pray the rosaries as many as six times a day.  She had a strong love for the Catholic Church and its teachings and as long as her health permitted, she never missed Bible study or adoration at her church.  Louvinia was an active member of The Holy Family Sodality of Our Lady and she used to plan and organize trips to casinos and dinner theaters to raise funds for the Sodality.  In addition, Louvinia was a member of the Sodality Union Archdiocese of Washington and a member of Incarnation Ladies Auxiliary No. 207 Knights of St. John International.  She also enjoyed getting together with the senior citizens at Holy Family to play Pokeno®, often coming home with a winning pile of nickels.  In addition to the occasional trip to casinos and dinner theaters, Louvinia enjoyed travelling to other places including, but not limited to California, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Canada, Rome and Greece. 

Louvinia married the late Joseph Francis Templeman on March 20, 1955, a marriage which lasted 36 years until Joe’s death in April 1991.  No children resulted from this union; however, Louvinia considered her nephews Thomas Bush and Bernard Wilson, Jr., and niece Linda Jones as her children on whom she relied heavily in her later years.

In addition to her husband Joe, Louvinia was predeceased by her mother, brothers Arthur Emanuel Bush (Julia Catherine), James Purnell Bush, Charles Henry Bush (Madeline and Christine), Robert Benedict Bush (Jean), Moses Eugene Bush (Maude), William Leroy Young, and Stephen Alexander Young, her brothers-in-law Ellsworth Plater and Bernard Wilson, Sr. and her godson James (Butch) Bush.  She is survived by her sisters Mary Edna Plater, Rachel Lola Wilson and Queen Elizabeth Dorm (Kenneth), sisters-in-law Mary Martha Bush Brooks, Margaret Bush, Shirley Templeman King and brother-in-law John Templeman (Peggy), godsons, Robert (Bobby) Wilson and Lee Dorm, honorary goddaughter Theresa C. Young, as well as a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.