Wayne E. Bowman ’67

Wayne died Dec. 21, 2016, of cancer at his home in Alexandria, Va. He had been in failing health for several months but was nonetheless planning to attend our 50th reunion when the cancer suddenly worsened.

Wayne graduated from Norfolk (Va.) Academy, where he was art editor of the yearbook, a National Merit scholar, and played varsity football, track, and soccer.

At Princeton Wayne majored in romance languages with a goal of serving in the Foreign Service in Latin America. His senior thesis, “Some Aspects of the United States-Latin American Relations,” indicated his career goals. As he wrote in his reunion essay, that interest eventually merged with a career in journalism in his later years. He was an active member of Elm Club, was instrumental in organizing Whig-Clio’s Latin American Affairs Conference, and participated for four years on the track team and 150-pound football. He roomed with Stephen Watson and Don Knight.

After graduation Wayne served in the Navy from 1967 to 1971, and was stationed in Iceland, Rhode Island, and Guantanamo Bay. After service he returned to civilian work before enrolling in and graduating in 1974 from Columbia’s renowned journalism school. He met his wife, Patricia, in a recreational Scottish dance group and they remained together through two distinct phases of his career: his many years as a local television reporter, assignment editor, and producer; and then a long second term as a TV journalist for the U.S. Information Agency.

His teammates, clubmates, and classmates remember Wayne as a thoughtful and serious student, a wonderful person, and a thoroughly ethical and decent man. His loss leaves us with only fond memories of this tall, smiling, gentle friend.