Jack Bowers: Nature’s Friend (1949-2016)

By Patrick Oliver, San Francisco Bay Inspiring Connections Outdoors program volunteer leader

Jack Bowers was a man who was committed to getting kids outdoors. No San Francisco Bay Chapter volunteer for the Club's Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO) program went on more trips or connected with more students than Jack!

Jack Bowers died on Saturday, July 2, while descending North Palisade in the Sierra Nevada. He was 67. He had just summited the 14,249' mountain with his brother, David. He slipped on his way down, fell 80 feet, hit his head, and died instantly.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Lisa, and by his two brothers, David and Andy. Another brother, Roy, predeceased him.

Jack grew up in Orinda, California, graduated from Miramonte High School in the class of 1969, and later worked as a machinist and a mechanic. He was a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts for many years.

Jack was a long-time volunteer for the Sierra Club. He led countless backpacking and camping trips, especially for the SF Bay Chapter ICO group, which helps brings young people outdoors for hiking, camping, and backpacking.

Jack also planted many trees in Oakland.

From the first time I first worked with Jack in the fall of 2013 -- taking my Mount Diablo High School students backpacking in the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve -- to the many subsequent trips he volunteered to help run with me, I knew I could always count on Jack.

This spring I was about to cancel my students’ senior class trip to Yosemite National Park. I couldn’t find a volunteer to help run the trip. Suddenly, Jack Bowers messaged me about getting firewood. The trip was on!

Jack’s friends in the ICO program had so many kind words to share about his life. Here are a few:

“Jack was on every trip that I went on and he had an encyclopedic memory of the plants, trees, rocks, and waterways of California. He was incredibly generous and reliable.” - Taylor Smiley

“Jack was always willing to pick up the gear, make sure it was dry, and return it to the gear shed in Oakland for so many of us. Every year, Jack went on so many more trips than any other ICO leader. He led a lot, but he more often assisted other leaders, many of whom were scrambling for help. Jack lived his life to the fullest. Jack died living!” - Mickey Allison

“Jack was an absolute inspiration to me in ICO. I've lost count of all the trips we have been on together. I learned so very much from him these last 16 years and he was always there for all of us. I will never forget him as long as I live.” - Linda Olvera

“This is very sad. In my short time with ICO Jack was on several of the trips I went on and I immediately realized and respected what a stalwart volunteer he was for ICO. He was always there to lend a hand and go the extra mile to help.” - Lisa Valdivia

“I spent several afternoons and evenings with Jack in the Chestnut Street gear shed and there was almost no piece of equipment that Jack didn’t think was worth repairing. He was an endless source of information about what we saw, smelled, and heard along the trail, and his information was always offered in a casual way, never calling attention to himself. Yet when you were on a trip with Jack, there were the endless calls of, “Mr. Jack, Mr. Jack, do you know what this is?” as kids held up branches, leaves, and bugs of all different kinds for Jack to identify and impart his wilderness wisdom. Jack was clearly committed to making these parks accessible to everyone, to sharing a little bit of the joy and awe that being in the midst of fabulous natural wonders brought to him, and to that sense of peace and calm that we’ve all experienced as the sun goes down on one of those perfect ICO trips. I will miss him but will always remember the many lessons I learned from him.” - Michael Fischer

Jack’s joy in life was helping others and he gave of himself unstintingly. He will be missed by many Sierra Club ICO volunteers, friends, teachers, and students.


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