Samuel Andrew BOWMAN III, passed away at home on April 13, 2016 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Sam was born on December 30, 1936 in Springfield, Ohio to Thelma Elizabeth Corey and Samuel A. Bowman II. He attended The Ridgewood School, Elmwood Elementary, Exeter (’55) and Princeton University (’59). Sam was a patron of the arts and supported many cultural endeavors. He enjoyed a robust social life and belonged to numerous clubs and organizations in both New York and Ohio. His charitable activities were strong but reserved.
Sam contributed to many worthy causes while avoiding self-promotion. He thought the sincerest gifts were those that were unannounced and unexpected. Many of the beneficiaries of his charity never saw it coming which appealed to his mischievous nature. Sam enjoyed a 47 year career in the financial industry working for Tucker and Anthony, H.G. Wellington and Ingalls and Snyder as an investment advisor. Sam’s clients were his friends, and he took great pride in the fact that his friends entrusted him with their assets. His greatest professional joy came from knowing the positive impact he had on so many of his client’s families and their financial well-being. As a keen observer of the human condition, Sam enjoyed and deftly navigated a fifty year relationship with New York City.
Sam loved the City. He explored, experienced and shared all he learned about New York City and would frequently comment on the transformations he had witnessed over the past decades. Not so much with lament for the old, but a respect for the ever changing nature of the City. While life in the City intrigued Sam, it did not claim his soul. Sam’s passion was his love for nature and all things natural. Sam and his wife Grace traveled the world extensively to experience many wonders and culturally significant locals. He loved his weekend retreat in Millbrook, New York where he and Grace would escape to enjoy a slower- paced life and take a deep breath. But his most special place was his family farm in Springfield, Ohio. Sam was an active owner of the Shawnee Farms which were designated as a centennial farm by the State of Ohio. Sam’s relationship with this land spanned his entire life and he took great pride in the profitable operation of the farm and the extensive work by his team to conduct ecologically beneficial agricultural practices aimed at maintaining the land in pristine condition. Perhaps Sam’s greatest last act was to apply agricultural easements to his farm in order to ensure that this farmland will be preserved for generations to come. Sam is survived by his loving wife Grace Grasselli Bowman, his sister Julie Bowman McGregor, half-sister Gail LeFevre and numerous step-children, nieces and nephews.
He leaves behind literally a world of friends who are better people for having had Sam be a part of their lives. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John Elden Bowman. A memorial celebration of Sam’s life will be held at his farm in Ohio. Contributions in Sam’s memory can be made to the Tecumseh Land Trust or the Duchess Land Conservancy.
