Earl W. and Louise S. Bowman Memorial Scholarship

Many people like to leave memorial scholarships as a tribute to their parents. For most, it is a way of preserving the family name and a way of recognizing their parents’ unique contributions to society. That was true for Charles and David Bowman, sons of Earl and Louise Bowman, who wanted to express their pride in who their parents were and what they accomplished in their lifetimes.

Earl, the youngest of seven children, was orphaned at age 10 and was raised by his older brothers and sisters. They kept the family involved in the family parish at Emmanuel Lutheran in their home town of Irwin, Pennsylvania. Earl graduated from high school and continued his studies, ultimately becoming one of the first engineers to be hired by J. C. Garrett of AiResearch Manufacturing Company. Earl remained in the aircraft industry at Garrett Corp. until his death in 1959.

Louise Shafer Bowman grew up in Kent, Ohio, with an older sister and younger brother. Her family parish was First Congregational of Kent. She too graduated from high school, then from Kent Normal School, marrying Earl two years later. Louise wanted to teach school, and teach she did—for t25 years—in public, private and parochial schools. Earl and Louise were married 30 years and had two sons, Charles and David. Louise died in 1996.

It was Charles Bowman who started the process of creating this scholarship, with the full participation of his brother David. Charles had attended Pepperdine University but chose Cal Lutheran for the scholarship. Charles enlisted in the U. S. Air Force cadet flight training program where he trained many pilots. He served two tours in Korea and one in Vietnam. Upon retirement, he moved to Nevada City where David was living.

In spite of a debilitating stroke in 1986, Charles continued to be active in the things that mattered most to him. Endowing this scholarship was one of those important goals. The two brothers decided that the Earl W. and Louise S. Bowman Memorial Scholarship should be awarded to students at the sophomore level or above who are headed for either a teaching or engineering career. Lutheran students are to be given preference. It was the brothers’ desire that the recipients receive this information about their parents.