mom and dad 1963

My Dad.

Charles "Chuck" Bowker, Jr. - 1941 - 1986.

My dad was always doing something.

He escaped Bakersfield, to serve in the US Navy, he learned electronics and was assigned as a radar operator and electrical specialists on E-2 Hawkeyes. Their squadron had two deployments to Vietnam where the E-2's were the airborne controllers for the planes conducting missions and also the airborne eyes for the Carrier Group detecting potential threats.

After his 2nd tour, he decided to leave the Navy and joined NCR in the suburbs of San Diego as a systems analysis. This was the era when NCR was developing something called the "Automated teller" which we know as ATMs. He would help with the designs and sourcing of parts for a generation without the benefit of AUTOCAD the tools we take for granted today.

He worked a full-time job there and loved still electronics. He built us an Apple II clone have at home. He knew that stuff. All without a college degree, but with that experience from the Navy.

He joined the USN Reserves and worked on electronics at Miramar (when it was still home to Top Gun) on his weekend a month and two weeks during the summer to support the squadrons which were still protecting America during the cold war.

He joined the San Diego Sheriff's Reserves which we trained volunteers which supplemented the regulars on patrol and with events. Later he moved into the Search and Rescue team where they were on 24/7 call to help locate missing persons in San Diego County. Lots of training, meetings, and activities. He brought me along as much as he could and I enjoyed spending time with him and the team.

He was a band dad. When I was in Ozzie's youth band and school bands, he'd take a day off from work to help drive the equipment van. He'd take me all over Southern California to watch the Emerald Brigade at Poway High compete in competitions. He reminded me that someday soon I'd be out there with them. He paid for music lessons outside of school to help me improve, etc...

When I got to Poway High finally he helped the equipment team and the band doing all sorts of behind the scenes things, setting up for field shows, carrying the ladder for our warm-ups or whatever else was needed. He was always around and I loved that time with him, being there in person.

November 1986

My mom woke me up and said "something's wrong". Paramedics were called and he was transported to the hospital. Severe stroke was the diagnosis.

He was moved to the ICU where he passed away 2 weeks later. Our local friends stepped up to help, but we didn't have a family close by. His dad had passed away in January his year and his mom died when he was just a teenager.

He donated his body to medical science as a living donor. We arranged a memorial service to be held a couple of weeks later. My mom and I attended a small church in Poway, but as people reached out to want to attend we realized it would be to small for people who wanted to be there.

At the service, people from all of the groups above attended. The USN was there, the Sheriff's, co-workers from NCR and many of the students and families that he had somehow touched through the band years. Lot's of comments about how he always was there to help. One of the toughest, but also one of the most memorable days in my life.

No he wasn't perfect. No one is of course.

Life after his passing.

My mom told me we'd stay in Poway if I wanted so I could stay in band. We became closer and she went out of her way to support me in things, but she was a long way from her parents and family back in Arkansas.

Losing him so young, he wasn't there to see me graduate High School, College, or give advice about my career and life. He wasn't there to celebrate successes or reach out to for help. He wasn't there in person, but he was always there with me in his spirit.

Happy Father's Day

If your father is still alive today, tell him how much you appreciate him. If he isn't there, do what I do each year and remember him in your own way and how he still influences your life.