Avis Ilene Guyot

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Avis Guyot, age 94, was called home to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. There was much to celebrate for the family of George and Inga Bowman when they welcomed the birth of their first child, a healthy baby girl, Avis Ilene, on July 9, 1926. When Avis was a young child, she went through the hardship that many Americans did due to the Great Depression. Her father lost his job, food was scarce, and her parents lost their home. Avis and her brother, Robert, took their wagon along the railroad tracks collecting coal to heat their house. When the war ended things began to return to normal and her parents gave Avis private piano lessons. The love for music was a big part of Avis’s life as she played piano and organ until she was 92 years old. Avis loved to sing and was in several school and church choirs. Avis was a fun loving person with a great sense of humor who made people laugh. Throughout her life, Avis was passionate about bringing beauty to the world around her. Her hobbies were home decorating, traveling, gardening, floral arranging, and oil painting beautiful landscapes and floral pictures. Avis was very gifted with creative skills, talents to conceptualize and paint with great imagination. Her pictures are worth a thousand words. Her artwork described what a beautiful person she was. All who went by her home would agree that her flower garden was breathtaking, and the woman behind the vibrant display was extraordinary. There were so many things to appreciate about Avis. She was organized and determined in everything she did, and she liked to have a good time too. Known for her hospitality, Avis loved hosting family events and parties at her home where she cherished spending time with her loved ones. It was through a friend of the family that Avis met a young man named Lloyd Guyot whom she grew to love deeply. Lloyd had three daughters and one son. After meeting Lloyd’s son, she knew in her heart that God was giving her children to raise and nurture. The couple married May 11, 1963 in Traverse City, Michigan. Even though Avis did not have children of her own, God blessed her with four children to raise. She brought them to church and Sunday school and taught them the plan of salvation and how to live a Christian life. Avis worked for twenty-seven years at CNA Insurance performing as an Accountant, Collection Manager, and Divisional Supervisor in charge of General Services. When her husband’s health was declining, Avis retired from CNA in 1981. Avis and Lloyd traveled in their motor home enjoying the Sunbelt area and everything our great country had to offer. After Lloyd’s death on August 4, 1990, Avis volunteered at the Goodwill Store in Jenison, Michigan. In the year 2000, Avis began to assist her brother, David, with the five Lost Boys he adopted from South Sudan. She helped them set up apartments by purchasing dishes, kitchen items, furnishings and teaching them to cook and clean as well as do laundry. She also took them to appointments and outings, such as the circus and John Ball Zoo. She also enjoyed taking them shopping for clothing such as bathing suits so they could enjoy Michigan summer weather. The South Sudanese affectionately called her “Mom Avis” as she was like a mother to them and mentored them in how to live in America. Avis enjoyed her relationships with the South Sudanese and tried everyday to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those she came in contact with every day. After Avis fell on June 24, 2019, she had many months of rehabilitation and was finally admitted to Beacon Hill at Eastgate for her final residency before passing away. Avis was loved by all who knew her as she brought fun into conversations, laughter, joy, and a witness for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Her entire life was spent reading God’s word, reading devotions, singing hymns, and reciting scripture verses and prayer – up until her final day. Avis’s life was one that was truly transformed through the teachings of Jesus Christ. His selfless example of love moved her and changed her to want to bring that type of grace and love into the world. Life will never be the same without Avis as she was kind hearted, a gentle spirit, and a friend to all who knew her. She had deep faith in God that demonstrated a life well lived and one worth remembering. Avis was a loving mother, sister, aunt, and friend who loved helping and serving others, sewing, and spending time in her garden. She loved to entertain and host many family and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd; siblings, Robert and Lois Bowman, Gladys and Phil Burton, David Bowman, MaryLou Beck; sister-in-law, Becky Bowman. Avis will be lovingly remembered by her son, Lloyd and Betty Guyot; sister, Dolores Fingleton; sister-in-law Nancy Bowman; brother, Jerry Bowman; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 5, 11 am at Calvary Church, 707 E. Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids, with Pastor Josh Warren officiating. Burial Rosedale Memorial Park. Relatives and friends may meet the family from 10-11 am prior to the service at church. Avis will be remembered for her love in helping many Sudanese refugees. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make memorial contributions to Partners in Compassionate Care, 1000 Front Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. Condolences may be sent online at www.mkdfuneralhome.com.