Standardbred breeder/owner John F. Bowers Jr., 87, passed away at his home in Dublin, Ohio, this past Friday (Oct. 12).
Born in Belle Center, Ohio, Bowers graduated from Lodi High School and then served in the Air Force prior to graduating from The Ohio State University. He was a partner at Kingswood Lumber and Tri Village Investment Company.
Bowers married Barbara Wolf on April 14, 1956 in Columbus, Ohio, and the couple had five children. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara, son John ‘Buck’ III and son Peter.
An avid golfer, Bowers shot par or better on 15 different golf courses and won senior championships at three courses. He was a member of Brookside Country Club for 46 years and a former member of the Golf Club at Boca Raton. At Brookside he won the ‘Old Pal’ and ‘Member-Member’ tournaments with his old pal ‘Turk.’
Bowers' keen sense of humour served him well as toastmaster for a number of organizations and for writing a weekly bulletin for the Mercator Club where was a former president and Man of the Year. He was also a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus, member of Rotary Council and a member of St. Andrews Catholic Church for more than 50 years. He was also a past president of the St. Andrews PTA.
Bowers was a member of the United States Trotting Association and former owner of 38 trotters. He also bred Standardbreds. All of his horses were trained by his daughter Moira.
Bowers is survived by his son Michael (Becky) and their sons Mark and Jeff Bowers; daughter Moira (Bill) Fahy and their children Chelsea and Michael Fahy and son Joseph (Jaana) and their daughters Riley and Leah Bowers; his sister Marge England of Oskaloosa, Iowa and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation for Bowers will be on Friday (Oct. 19) from 4-7 p.m. at John Quint Treboni Funeral Home, 1177 West Fifth Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. A private service and burial will be held at St. Joseph Cemetery, Lockbourne, Ohio.
Condolences may be sent via www.johnquint.com. Memorials may be given to the Alzheimer's Association (http://alz.org) in memory of his beloved wife Barbara Bowers or the Homeless Families Foundation (http://homelessfamiliesfoundation.org).
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of John Bowers.
(USTA)