Alvin L. Bowles MD

Dr. Alvin Bowles, renowned retired pulmonologist at Henry Ford Hospital Detroit passed on Saturday morning February 8th in his home. *Beloved son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, friend, >> colleague. Alvin Leander Bowles, Sr. wore many hats and touched countless >> lives. The journey of our remarkable Alvin began in Skelton, West Virginia, >> a small coal-mining town outside of Beckley. He was born on November 8, >> 1947 to parents Larry, a coal miner, and Gladys (Holland), a homemaker. >> Alvin and his four siblings, Joyce, Wilda, Jane, and David, grew up in a >> home filled with deep love and great food. A lifelong lover of books and >> stories, Alvin was a voracious reader, enjoying the works of Langston >> Hughes, Edgar Allen Poe, and especially Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock >> Holmes series. He studied classic literature and poetry and loved music, >> from opera to Motown—passions he would later share with his children and >> grandchildren.* >> >> *Alvin showed leadership skills at an early age at Stratton High School >> as class president, captain of the football team and class valedictorian. >> An exceptional and motivated student, he started his college education at >> West Virgina University for one year, then later matriculated at Wayne >> State University when his entire family migrated North to Detroit, >> Michigan. His deep fascination with science and capacity for >> problem-solving led him to pursue a career in medicine, graduating with >> honors from Wayne State Medical School. He chose the dynamic field of >> pulmonology, because he always remembered as a boy how hard it was for the >> coal miners to breathe and wanting to help them.* >> >> *Alvin went on to become the first African-American Pulmonary Fellow at >> the University of Pennsylvania, passing his internal medicine, surgery and >> pulmonary boards with distinction. Wanting to be close to family, he chose >> to practice medicine in Michigan at the Detroit Medical Center, >> Harper-Hutzel University Hospital, and finally retired from Henry Ford >> Hospital after more than 50 years of lifetime medical service. It is >> important to note that later in his career he became thought leader in the >> often ignored specialty of Sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease most common >> in the lungs and lymph glands. Alvin’s medical legacy is centered on the >> development of new protocols for patient care.* >> >> *Alvin earned numerous leadership posts in his incredible career, >> including head of the Ethics Commision at Henry Ford Hospital, active >> contributor to the Hastings Center Bioethics Research Institute, and a >> member of the Global Commission on Medical Ethics in China. Known as one to >> make friends wherever he visited, many international locals assumed he was >> a visiting celebrity. Warm and gregarious, Dr. Bowles truly enjoyed posing >> with growing groups of paparazzi and signing autographs as Denzel >> Washington.* >> >> *Alvin met the love of his life at age 5, when Gwen moved two doors down >> from his family. Despite graduating from high school together in 1965, they >> did not go on their first date until they were in their early 20s and >> married shortly thereafter in 1972. They shared work and home at Hutzel >> Hospital, where Gwen served as Head Nurse, supporting Alvin through medical >> school. A year and a half later, Alvin Jr. was born, followed two years >> later by sister Makyha-Tiana. As a family, they moved onto UPenn’s campus >> before permanently settling down in Michigan. Alvin was a devoted and >> passionate family man, and his children were his pride and joy. He stressed >> the value of education, impressing upon Alvin Jr. and Makyha-Tiana the >> importance of excellence and achievement without compromising integrity.* >> >> *One of Alvin’s greatest passions was photography. He would spend >> countless hours in the dark room he built in the basement of the family’s >> Southfield home, at camera shows with his crew, shooting nature in >> Kensington Park, and capturing the unscripted moments of everyday family >> life. He loved sharing his craft with family and friends who would proudly >> display his art. He was a big fan of the work of renowned artists Diego >> Rivera, Ansel Adams and Jerry Prettyman.* >> >> *A lifelong lover of sports, Alvin took up cycling with the Wolverine >> Sports Club, racing in numerous events in Michigan and Colorado. His >> competitive and enthusiastic spirit was a driving force in everything he >> did—from serving as Detroit Country Day’s team doctor on his son’s football >> and lacrosse teams, hosting ping pong tournaments in the family’s basement, >> and coaching his daughter in track and field. * >> >> *Alvin was equally devoted to his church community. As a long-standing >> member of Highland Park Baptist Church since 1981, Alvin dutifully served >> in a number of roles, from nursery school volunteer to deacon board member. >> However, his most cherished work with the church was serving as a medical >> missionary twice in Uganda and taking an Old Testament tour in Israel.* >> >> *His most recent role, grandparent, coalesced all of his life’s hopes and >> dreams. He was the proudest grandfather, known to share endless photographs >> and stories with friends and strangers alike (and had T-shirts custom-made >> showcasing his role as a “spoiling” grandpa). He made countless trips to >> visit his grandchildren, enjoying school plays and graduations, and most >> memorably, family trips to Martha’s Vineyard—always with his camera in tow. >> The family images he captured are a priceless record we treasure. He >> remains a profound example for all of the highest devotion and unyielding >> love. His life’s mantra was, “A dedicated life: No Reserve! No Retreat! No >> Regret!”* >> >> *Alvin is survived by his loving wife, Gwendolyn L. Bowles; devoted son, >> Alvin L. Bowles, Jr., wed to Terri P. Bowles; adoring daughter, >> Makyha-Tiana B. Holt (Bowles), wed to Michael A. Holt; grandchildren Kayla >> Marie Bowles, Sydney Josephine Bowles, Maxson Isaac Holt, Maddox Emmanuel >> Holt; his sisters, Joyce Bly and Wilda Freeman; sister-in-law, Barbara Jean >> Penn; brother-in-law and best friend, Master Chief Rev. Alfred E. Harvey, >> Sr., wed to Starella Harvey; dedicated nieces and nephews who considered >> him a second father; and a host of cousins, family, friends, former >> colleagues and patients.* >> >> >> *-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* >> >> *Quote and Scripture for the Program* >> >> >> *From Maya Angelou’s “When Great Trees Fall”* >> >> >> *And when great souls die* >> >> *after a period peace blooms,* >> >> *slowly and always irregularly.* >> >> *Spaces fill with a kind of* >> >> *soothing electric vibration.* >> >> *Our senses, restored, never* >> >> *to be the same, whisper to us.* >> >> *They existed. They existed.* >> >> *We can be. * >> >> *Be and be better. * >> >> *For they existed.* >> >> *----------* >> >> *“Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”* >> >> *–Revelation 2:10*

Alvin L. Bowles MD

November 8, 1947 - February 8, 2020