Our father, Jack Bowen, died sometime around midnight leading into May 27, 2020. Throughout his life he was an advocate for children.
In the 1990s he coached fastpitch softball. During the long winters, he finagled gym space so girls from Anchorage and beyond had space to pitch on late nights or weekends. He often went to work in the wee hours of the morning so he had time to coach the girls in the evenings.
In 1995 his daughters, Kate and Becky, were on the state of Alaska all-star team. Because of the time commitment he was unable to travel that year. Though Alaska teams had not won tournaments outside of the state before, this one did. They traveled to Phoenix, Arizona and beat the regional favorite from California to earn a spot in the Little League World Series.
In the thrill of victory the girls celebrated under the Phoenix night sky, but a thunderstorm loomed on the horizon -- literally and figuratively. The team had not raised the money to travel to the World Series. They had no plane tickets. The California team had already bought their tickets to the World Series and were on deck to go if Team Alaska were unable to raise the money.
The team was blissfully unaware. Behind the scenes, Jack worked his sources and with others managed to raise the money for last-minute plane tickets and other costs. He was a humble man. He didn't take credit for this accomplishment publicly as far as we knew and we were completely oblivious to this act of kindness until a few years ago. It was a total shock to both of us to learn how close we actually came to not taking that life-defining trip.
In the early 2000s, he advocated for an Alaska state law that required background checks for people who work or volunteer with children.
Jack was a fire protection engineer for 50 years and was meticulous about his work. He served in the U.S. Army, supported Republican causes and attended rallies with his two youngest daughters. He enjoyed watching shows about military planes and aircraft carriers. Later in life he watched Fox News and enthusiastically voted for President Donald Trump.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Jane. He is survived by his children: Jack Bowen Jr of Liberty, Mo.; Jaime Bowen and husband Kevin of Kansas City, Mo.; Kate Martin and husband Eric of Carrboro, N.C.; Becky Dorman and husband Tom of Osage City, Kan., and six grandchildren: Tim, Christian, Cora, Kassandra, Viktoria and Ryder.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local Boys and Girls Clubs of America or Meals on Wheels.

Please email kimyoungtrout@yahoo.com for details regarding a memorial at the A-O-R ballpark.

Online Zoom memorial services will be held at June 13th, 2020 at 5 PM at the address 861 5417 4297.