Richard Bowman ’62

Attorney Richard A. Bowman ’62, of Shorewood, Minnesota, died on Sept. 7, 2016, at age 75.

The son of a turkey farmer, he attended country school near Mount Vernon, Iowa, and graduated from Mount Vernon High School. He completed his studies at Cornell College in 1962 while serving as a reservist in the U.S. Marine Corps. Following graduation he moved to Minneapolis with then-wife Mary, and attended the University of Minnesota Law School on full scholarship, graduating with honors.

He joined the law firm now known as Gray Plant Mooty and began a stellar career as a trial lawyer. In 1985 he co-founded Bowman and Brooke with good friend Jeff Brooke, and their national practice began. He retired from the firm in 2012.

Dubbed the “father figure of automotive transport litigation,” Bowman built the nation’s largest automotive product liability defense practice and shaped the product liability landscape for the entire industry.

Dick was an avid hot-air balloonist, enthusiastic ballroom dance competitor with his wife Terri, animal lover, cross-country motorcyclist, bonfire builder, and voracious reader. He served on the boards of the Minneapolis Aquatennial, Calvary Lutheran Church of Golden Valley, Twin Cities choir Magnum Chorum, and the Lafayette Club. He remained active with Cornell’s Delta Phi Rho fraternity, including as a member of the Delt Lecture Advisory Board.

He is survived by his wife, Terri, four children, a granddaughter, twin brother Bob Bowman ’62, and sisters Mary Bowman Seidler ’61 and Rosalie Gallagher.