Terry “L” Bowman died March 4, 2025, at home in Eagle, Idaho, following a more than two-year courageous battle with Pancreatic and Esophageal cancers.
The following obituary/bio was written by Terry prior to his death. Not a man of few words.
Terry was born on February 9, 1943, in Layton, Utah to Ralph and Elva Bowman who had left St. Anthony, Idaho looking for work. Work found Ralph in the form of the draft into the Army for WWII. After the War the family settled in Pocatello, Idaho where Terry attended school and graduated from Pocatello High School in 1961. He applied for and was awarded a regular Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship. After being accepted at 5 universities, he selected Columbia College, largely because of New York City. College was a busy time, NROTC; Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity; Crew, where he rowed all four years and was Captain in his senior year; and jobs. About this time, he made acquaintances with people that would be significant later in his life. He also acted as a recruiter for Columbia College and with another alumnus he helped recruit Ward and Joe Parkinson from Blackfoot High School. He graduated from Columbia in June of 1965, with two minor degrees in Economics and Mathematics.
Upon graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and after schools in San Diego he flew to Hawaii and onto Japan to report to his first ship, USS Phillip DD498. He was qualified as an Officer of the Deck while still an Ensign. In June of 1967, he attended department head school in Newport, Rhode Island before being assigned as the Operations Officer on USS Shelton DD790 in San Diego. Two officers in his department were senior to him until his spot promotion to LT. He received orders to the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey where he received a master’s degree in operations research. While in school he was “deep” selected to Lieutenant Commander 2 years ahead of his peers.
Upon graduation he was assigned to Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group Three in San Diego and they immediately deployed to the western Pacific just after the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Not long into the deployment the three senior staff officers were killed in a helicopter accident leaving 5 Lieutenant Commanders in charge of 72 Cruisers and Destroyers in the Western Pacific. Upon completion of this tour, he was assigned as Executive Officer of USS Waddell (DDG-24) again in San Diego. After only 15 months (the billet was in high demand) he was detailed to Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. After receiving orders to Washington DC, he decided it was time to resign from active duty after 11 years. While on active duty he received several awards, including: 2 Navy Commendation Medals with combat “V,” Navy Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, 2 Meritorious Unit Citations, 66 Vietnam Service medals, National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Battle Efficiency “E” Award.
Terry met Julia Evans in January of 1975, and they were married on October 2, 1976, in Castro Valley, CA. They both worked hard and travelled extensively nationally and internationally. Terry joined the Naval Reserve and served for 10 years before retiring.
He accepted the position of purchasing manager and manager of the largest of 7 branches of Ewing Irrigation Products in San Leandro, CA. Terry used to say one day he hardly knew what a sprinkler was and the next day he was buying over $4 million of them.
Returning to Idaho, Terry joined his dad in Boise teaching Dale Carnegie Courses full time taking over management of the Idaho Franchise.
A good high school friend called and asked if he knew anything about the new start up west of town being run by the Parkinson brothers (Micron Technology). He was hired by Micron and when the sales and marketing manager resigned, he assumed that position. Sales at that time were less than $200,000. Within 6 months’ orders on the books exceeded $200,000,000. He was appointed Vice President of Sales and Marketing. During this time, he travelled extensively both in the U.S. and internationally. Julia accompanied him on trips to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany and France.
Upon leaving Micron after approximately 6 years, he was appointed by Idaho Governor Andrus as the first Administrator of the Division of Economic Development working for the Department of Commerce Head, Jim Hawkins. During this time, he also purchased Oakley Electronics.
He was recruited for a sales and marketing position at a new start-up, Advanced Power Technology, in Bend, Oregon. He took on the challenge and soon became the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. While making sales visits in Orlando, Florida he ran into a friend from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School who told him he wanted Terry on his team at Martin Marietta, Orlando (later Lockheed Martin) utilizing his master’s degree and Navy Experience.
After joining the company, Terry worked on several projects over 19 years, the majority of which were related to the U.S. Navy and highly classified or “Black.” He travelled a great deal, over 100,000 air miles a year with several trips to California, Minnesota, Washington D.C., and England. He was asked to join a NATO study group to represent Lockheed Martin and that resulted in trips to San Jose, Ca, Norway, and Crete where he interacted with military representatives from the NATO countries. His last position was Business Development Manager for Navy Guided Projectiles.
After a severe illness, he took terminal leave and set his retirement on December 31, 2007, retiring to Eagle, Idaho.
Beginning in 1980, Rotary became a major part of his life. Many hours were spent in providing service and he was elected President of the Rotary Club of Boise, Southwest. He founded the Rotary Clubs of Boise Sunrise and Metro. While living in Bend he joined the Rotary Club of Bend and then in Orlando joined the Rotary Club of Dr. Phillips. He founded the Rotary Club of Bay Hill and became its first president. Returning to Boise, he rejoined the Rotary Club of Boise, Southwest and became the president again. Rotary and serving others have been a big part of Terry’s life. In Rotary, Terry and Julia are Paul Harris Fellows, Bequest Society Members, Major Donors, and Bob Gibb Fellows. One of their favorite activities has been providing Christmas gifts and Christmas Dinner for the patients in need and their families at the St. Luke’s Cancer Institute each year. A new award was created in 2024 called The Terry Bowman commitment to Rotary award and Terry became the first recipient.
Terry’s love of wine began in 1976, with wine tasting in Napa Valley, but continued in France, Portugal, Spain and especially Italy. Terry and Julia discovered Paso Robles in 1985, while visiting Hearst Castle in Central California. They have returned to Paso at least once a year ever since and for the last 20 years have been going to Paso twice a year and have developed long-lasting friendships in the area. They have belonged to 24 different wine clubs (no more than 11 at a time) and have an extensive 1000 bottle collection of high-end boutique wines in their custom-built wine cellar.
Terry was on the Board of the Children’s Home Society from 2008 to 2017.
Terry and Julia believe that education is the key to success for individuals and our country. A scholarship was established by the members of the Rotary Club of Bay Hill in Terry’s name at Valencia Community College in Orlando. While at Micron, Terry and Julia donated to the construction of the Simplot/Micron Technology Center on the Boise State campus. They are both Chaffee Associates and Barnhill Society Members. They contributed to Boise State University after returning to Boise and established an endowment scholarship in their name in the College of Engineering.
They have also contributed significantly to the Boise Museum of Art largely because of their love for art.
There will be Military Funeral Honors and ashes scattered in the “Cremation Scatter Garden” at 1:00 pm, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, 10100 Horseshoe Bend Rd., Boise, Idaho.
In lieu of flowers, Terry requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions in his name for the benefit of Boise State University, for the Terry and Julia Bowman Scholarship Fund. Donations may be made to:
Boise State University Foundation, 1173 W. University Dr., Boise, Idaho, 83706.