Obituary of Albert Curtis Bowman

Curt Bowman passed away peacefully at the age at 94 in the early morning of Thursday, 7 September 2017 at his home in Santa Cruz. Curt was born 30 October 1922 in the city of Stockton, CA to Albert Cornelius Bowman and Alice Elizabeth Bryer Bowman. The Bowman family resided in Stockton for the first four years of Curt's life. Next they moved to Watsonville when his father obtained employment with the County of Santa Cruz. After two years in Watsonville the next move was the final relocation to Soquel where the family initially rented a home on Old San Jose Road and ultimately purchased a home on Porter Street and made that their permanent residence. Curt attended Soquel Union Elementary School located directly across the street from their home, then on to Santa Cruz High School, graduating in June 1940. Next he attended San Jose State until he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII, becoming a Sonarman. After the end of the war he resumed his education at San Jose State and graduated with a BA in Music. During his years in high school he met the love of his life, Betty Jean Barrington, whom he would eventually marry in 1946. At this time it was the early 1950's and he was employed by several schools including: Boulder Creek High School, Aptos Elementary, and Soquel Elementary teaching music, ultimately ending up full time with Soquel Union Elementary School as the head of the music department. Curt joined the Soquel Lodge #746 F&AM and was the very first candidate to be initiated, passed, and raised in new Lodge. He was also a member of the Mid County Kawanis Club. Rounding out his early extracurricular activities he volunteered as the Choir Director for the Soquel Congregational Church. In 1957 he joined with the two department heads of the Santa Cruz Elementary and Santa Cruz High School music departments, Matilda Dedrick and Norman Walters respectively, and others of a music background to assist in the forming of the Santa Cruz Symphony and is the last of the original three. During this period, he returned to San Jose State to obtain his Masters in Primary and Secondary School Administration. He graduated in 1960 with his Master's Degree and was immediately employed by the Soquel Union Elementary School system as Principal of Soquel Elementary on Porter Street, the school that he had attended as a boy. Moving into the 1960's Curt was bitten hard by the SCUBA diving bug and became a member of the Santa Cruz Aquatecks, diving competitively and for fun until his body said, "no more of this please." Curt Retired from the Soquel School System in 1978 and became a butcher. He volunteered as a docent with the Monterey Bay Aquarium which lasted for 27 years until his 90th birthday and retirement from the Aquarium Docent Staff. Owing to his music background, he was very interested in early music, participating with several local groups, one of which is the "Early Muse" focusing on music created before the 1500's which again he was active in until he was no longer able to participate. In the early 1990's, Betty Jean, his wife of 45 years passed way. In 1997 he remarried to Nancy Oyama, with whom he had 20 wonderful years together. Curt is survived by his wife, Nancy Bowman; his sons, Arlan (Sharon) Bowman of Santa Cruz, and Dana (Stella) Bowman of Stage Coach, Nevada; granddaughter, Jacqueline (John) Kotula ; great-grandson, Gavin of Eightyfour, Pennsylvania; nephew, Marion William (Trish) Steele II and of Tokyo, Japan; niece Pamela Ann Steele(Tim) Burke of Portland, Oregon; numerous nieces and nephews; Stepchildren, Cary (Ella) Oyama, Judi Oyama (Greg) Foy and step-grandchildren Taylor and Ryan Foy, of Santa Cruz. Curt was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Jean Barrington Bowman (26 June 1991); sons, Kevin Sten Bowman (24 Oct. 1995) and Gary Wade Bowman (15 June 1991); parents Alice Elizabeth Bryer Bowman (30 Apr 1994) and Albert Cornelius Bowman (16 Aug 1981), his sister Barbara Ann Bowman Steele/Polnaszek (28 Sept 2007). A memorial service will take place on Monday, 30 October 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the Santa Cruz Memorial - Oakwood Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95065. Following Curt's wishes he was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea through the Neptune Society. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to charities or organizations of your choice.