Capt.
Capt. Bowell, Sr
d. April 19, 2011
Bowell, Capt. William D., Sr.
Age 90
Founder, Padelford Riverboat Co.
Passed away April 19 in the company of his family from complications of bladder cancer. He was born Feb. 14, 1921 in St. Paul. In 1969 Capt. Bowell and his wife Lillian founded the Padelford Co. at Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul, a place where he and his brothers sold popcorn from their father's stand in the 1930's. His daughters and nephew Steve Bowell acquired the riverboat business in 2001. A founder of the national Passenger Vessel Association, he served as the PVA's first president serving from 1970 to 1978. After retiring in 2001 he created the Capt. William D. Bowell, Sr. Rivers Library at the National Rivers Hall of Fame Museum in Dubuque, IA. As an army paratrooper in WWII he jumped into Normandy, France behind enemy lines on D-Day and he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He earned four Battle Stars, Arrowhead for European Theater, Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Infantry Badge, three French Croix de Guerres, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. In 2010 he was belatedly awarded the French Legion of Honor by President Nicolas Sarkozy for his military service. After the war he graduated from Macalester College and became a photographer and curator for the Minnesota Historical Society. Later he was sales liaison engineer with Studebaker Automotive, account executive with a major marketing company in Chicago and part owner of an injection molding firm in St. Paul. Macalester College recognized him in 2006 with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He is survived by his partner Dorothy Calabrese; Lillian Flatten Bowell, DeBary, FL; daughters Shelley Bowell (Jim) Kosmo, Bayport; and Elizabeth Bowell (Bobby) Myers, DeBary, FL; son William D. Bowell, Jr., New Richmond, WI; Jaime and Jason Calabrese, Minneapolis; sisters Nancy Jean (Dan) Kohl, Sun City, AZ; Donna (Don) Dulude, Biloxi, MS; brother Dick (Roxanne) Bowell, Palmer, AK; eight grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by sisters Betty Jane, Mary, Phyllis and Patty and brothers Robert, Tom, Jim and Jack. The family extends special thanks to the kind staffs of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and Walker-Methodist Health Care Center, Minneapolis. Memorials are preferred to the Minnesota Historical Society. Service Monday, 3:00 P.M. at BRADSHAW CELEBRATION OF LIFE CENTER, 2800 Curve Crest Boulevard (NW corner of Hwy 36 & Co Rd 5), Stillwater. Interment Lakewood Cemetery. Visitation Sunday, 4-8 P.M. and also one hour prior to the service.
Age 90
Founder, Padelford Riverboat Co.
Passed away April 19 in the company of his family from complications of bladder cancer. He was born Feb. 14, 1921 in St. Paul. In 1969 Capt. Bowell and his wife Lillian founded the Padelford Co. at Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul, a place where he and his brothers sold popcorn from their father's stand in the 1930's. His daughters and nephew Steve Bowell acquired the riverboat business in 2001. A founder of the national Passenger Vessel Association, he served as the PVA's first president serving from 1970 to 1978. After retiring in 2001 he created the Capt. William D. Bowell, Sr. Rivers Library at the National Rivers Hall of Fame Museum in Dubuque, IA. As an army paratrooper in WWII he jumped into Normandy, France behind enemy lines on D-Day and he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He earned four Battle Stars, Arrowhead for European Theater, Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Infantry Badge, three French Croix de Guerres, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. In 2010 he was belatedly awarded the French Legion of Honor by President Nicolas Sarkozy for his military service. After the war he graduated from Macalester College and became a photographer and curator for the Minnesota Historical Society. Later he was sales liaison engineer with Studebaker Automotive, account executive with a major marketing company in Chicago and part owner of an injection molding firm in St. Paul. Macalester College recognized him in 2006 with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He is survived by his partner Dorothy Calabrese; Lillian Flatten Bowell, DeBary, FL; daughters Shelley Bowell (Jim) Kosmo, Bayport; and Elizabeth Bowell (Bobby) Myers, DeBary, FL; son William D. Bowell, Jr., New Richmond, WI; Jaime and Jason Calabrese, Minneapolis; sisters Nancy Jean (Dan) Kohl, Sun City, AZ; Donna (Don) Dulude, Biloxi, MS; brother Dick (Roxanne) Bowell, Palmer, AK; eight grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by sisters Betty Jane, Mary, Phyllis and Patty and brothers Robert, Tom, Jim and Jack. The family extends special thanks to the kind staffs of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and Walker-Methodist Health Care Center, Minneapolis. Memorials are preferred to the Minnesota Historical Society. Service Monday, 3:00 P.M. at BRADSHAW CELEBRATION OF LIFE CENTER, 2800 Curve Crest Boulevard (NW corner of Hwy 36 & Co Rd 5), Stillwater. Interment Lakewood Cemetery. Visitation Sunday, 4-8 P.M. and also one hour prior to the service.
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