Jim Bowman

Jim Bowman died peacefully on May 8, a week after his 85th birthday, in palliative care. Thanks to the marvels of the Canadia health care system, he had excellent nursing care in the new Patient Care Centre in a room overlooking the hills surrounding Victoria. Most of his family, with tears, tenderness and his favorite music, were with him. The memory of his witty, feisty and deeply caring spirit will be cherished by Marlene his wife of 58 years, daughter Kathy (Tomaso) with their son Uany from Sardinia, son Bill (Jenny) with their children R J and Ella from Wisconsin, daughter Sue (Brad) from Nanaimo with their children Stephen from Mexico, Pat (Brennan) and Tom from Vancouver and Heather from Nanaimo and daughter Elizabeth (Brian) with their children Sophia and Maddy whose home we could almost see from Jim's hospital window.

Born in Penrith, England, he qualified as a teacher at the University of Durham in the UK in 1948, served in the 6th Highland Brigade in charge of an education centre in West Germany, and was made a life member of the Penrith Cricket Club for spearheading the building of a new pavilion.

He spent the next 20 years in Saskatchewan - as a teacher in a one room rural school, a senior secondary history teacher, a principal, a director of curriculum and library services, a superintendent of education and a visiting professor at the Universities of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He established the first demonstration school library in Canada at Yorkton and, under his direction, the Prince Albert public school district won 1st place in Canada in the Encyclopedia Brittanica awards for school library development. In 1971 as the keynote speaker at the annual convention of education leaders in Canada, long before the residential school scandals became widely known, he decried the practice of rounding up Indigenous children for those schools.

Moving to Tsawwassen, British Columbia in 1974 he worked for the BC Teachers’ Federation, was a Visiting Fellow at the University of British Columbia and a consultant with the Royal Commission on Education (Sullivan). The contribution he was most proud of was influencing the establishment of teaching certificates for First Nations instructors qualified by their elders in tribal language and culture. Throughout his career he published widely in journals of education and politics and was guest speaker at a number of national and provincial gatherings of educators.

He was a man who made things happen; with humour and passion he inspired others to do the same. His healthy disrespect for authority was evident even when he became the authority. He loved whimsical language and opera, bet on horses, read widely, played poker, was fiercely loyal to his friends and loved his family with a deep devotion. A tribute to his life was held at the Search and Rescue Centre (formerly Glenairley) on May 11 in East Sooke, BC, the paradise of his retirement years.