Kelly, Eva, 1892-1985

Eva Kelly Bowring (January 9, 1892 – January 8, 1985) was a rancher and U.S. Senator from Nebraska. She was a member of the Republican Party.

Born Eva Kelly in Nevada, Missouri, she attended school in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1911, at age 19, she married Theodore Forester, a grain and feed salesman. After her husband's death in 1924, Eva Forester moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and took up her husband's work selling livestock feed. She remarried in 1928 to Arthur Bowring, who had served as county commissioner and went on to win election as a representative and senator in the Nebraska state legislature. They made their home at the Barr-99 ranch near Merriman in Cherry County, Nebraska. After her husband’s death in 1944, Eva Bowring operated the Barr-99, becoming the first woman to chair the Nebraska Stockgrowers Association Brand Committee.

Active in Republican politics in Nebraska, Eva Bowring was appointed to the United States Senate by Governor Robert B. Crosby to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dwight Griswold, making her the first woman to represent Nebraska in the Senate. She served from April 16, 1954, to November 7, 1954. Bowring was the fourth of six Senators to serve during the fifteenth Senate term for Nebraska's Class 2 seat, from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1955.

After her service in the Senate, Bowring continued ranching near Merriman. She served part-time on the Board of Parole of the Department of Justice from 1956 to 1964. She died in 1985, only one day before her 93rd birthday. After her death, her ranch was donated to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, becoming Bowring Ranch State Historical Park.