Ethel Bowens was born in Seward, Oklahoma, USA, on 26 August 1909. Her father, William Maple, was a farmer and her mother, Susie Osborne, was a homemaker. Her family attended a Guthrie-area Baptist church. She went to Sunday school and later taught in one.

On 3 May 1925, she married Volna T. Bowens Sr. (1902–1989). They were married for 17 years before having their first child together. They had 6 children, including twins when she was 43.

Bowens moved into Golden Age Nursing Home in February 2016 at the age of 106. She was a breast cancer survivor and a heart patient.

At that time of her 110th birthday, she had 29 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren, and 46-great-greatgrandchildren. Bowens said the secret to a long and happy life was “staying married to the same man, not smoking or drinking, and following God”.

Bowens died in Guthrie, Oklahoma, United States on 19 April 2022 at the age of 112 years, 236 days.