In 1929 Vowell, a widowed mother of two young children, began the three-year nurses training program at Sealy Hospital in Santa Anna, Texas. After becoming a registered nurse in 1933, she moved with her children to San Antonio and began working full-time as a nurse. Over the span of Vowell's 44-year career, she served as a school nurse, private nurse, psychiatric nurse and polio nurse. In addition, she was a visiting nurse at Kelly Field during World War II, a health nurse at Trinity University and a staff nurse at Nix Hospital. Upon retirement in 1976, Vowell was named historian of Chapter 8 of the Texas Nurses Association, the oldest professional nursing association in Texas. She began, what started as a bicentennial project, to compile the history of District 8 from its inception. Vowell died in 1997 at the age of 93.
From the description of Arvella Bentley Vowell Nurses collection, 1943-1994, n.d. (University of Texas at San Antonio). WorldCat record id: 46822882
