[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5503-S5504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE RIGHT REVEREND MARION BOWMAN

 Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a solemn 
tribute to an educator and clergyman whose life spanned most of this 
great century: the Right Reverend Marion Bowman of Florida.
  Father Marion Bowman passed away last week, and was buried on Friday, 
May 14, 1999, at the St. Leo Abbey Cemetery. As coach, teacher and 
president, Father Bowman was a guiding force at St. Leo College in St. 
Leo, FL. He is survived by a large and loving family, and a legion of 
alumni and friends of St. Leo College.
  Born on June 30, 1905, in Lebanon, KY, he made his first profession 
of vows twenty years later, and was ordained as a priest in 1931. His 
association with St. Leo began as a young man; he graduated from St. 
Leo College Prep School in 1923.
  Father Bowman served as the third abbot of St. Leo Abbey, from 1954-
69. On April 27, 1970, Father Bowman was elected president of St. Leo 
College and served on the institution's Board of Trustees as well.
  A versatile man, Father Bowman taught math, physics and chemistry at 
the prep school, and for four years was St. Leo's sole coach, heading 
the football, baseball, basketball and track teams. He also served as 
athletic director, and played a key role in converting St. Leo from a 
prep school to a college.
  In 1971, St. Leo College bestowed an honorary Doctor of Humanities 
degree on Father Bowman.

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  Mr. President, as we approach a new millennium and look back on the 
all-but-completed Twentieth Century, we are reminded of the importance 
of the dedicated people who impart knowledge, teach values, coach 
athletes and manage our schools. Father Marion Bowman--teacher, cleric 
and friend of St. Leo College--did all those things and many more, and 
we salute his dedication and his multiple contributions.

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