The family of Robert H. Bowes has renamed their company’s scholarship to include their father’s name. The T.N. Bowes HVAC Scholarship in Memory of Robert H. Bowes will aid students enrolled in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) program at CSM.
Originally established with the CSM Foundation in 2013 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of T.N. Bowes Heating and Air Conditioning, the scholarship was set up by the company’s owners Tommy and Joy Bowes. Renaming the fund this year honors Tommy’s father, who passed in 2018.
The elder Bowes attended Little Flower School and graduated from Ryken High School in 1959. He attended the United States Air Force Academy until 1961. He graduated from University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering in 1964 and went on to graduate from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School (USN TPS) in 1966.
Bowes worked in the Flying Qualities and Performance Branch of the Flight Test Division and was then transferred to TPS where he taught from 1967-1978. Due to his exemplary performance both academically and professionally, he was sent to Princeton University from where he earned a Master of Science degree in Engineering in 1969. He retired as an aeronautical engineer after 28 years of civil service April 15, 1988.
Despite all of his education, merits and accolades, he is best known in the Southern Maryland community as “Captain Bob,” the owner of a charter fishing business he started in 1972. Over the years, Bowes used his skills on the water for various passenger activities including underwater recreational and inspection diving, renovation of SMECO power line towers, logistics support and tidal studies for the U.S. Geological Survey Team and the Naval Research Laboratory and salvage operations. He also used his boat to give back to his community by providing fishing trips and boat rides for the children at the Muscular Dystrophy camp at Camp Maria, rides for the elderly and homeless with So Others Might Eat (SOME), and 43 years of carrying passengers to the St. Clements Island Blessing of the Fleet in support of the 7th District Optimist Club.
“He performed all of these professional and community missions while helping his wife, Patricia A. Bowes raise seven children,” shared Joy Bowes. “He led by example and used his analytical skills in everyday life by problem solving and making repairs on household items, boat motors, car motors and more. He taught his children how to take broken items apart, diagnose the issue, and re-assemble them once repaired.”
It was ‘Bob Bowes “hands-on” approach’ that guided his son Thomas N. Bowes to open his own Heating and Air Conditioning company by the age of 23 after receiving his technical training and working for other companies for a few years, according to Joy Bowes. “He had fantastic family role models with regards to work ethic and community caring and launched his HVAC business on the date of his father’s retirement in 1988,” she said of her husband.
To be eligible for assistance, the student(s) must be a resident of Southern Maryland; possess a high school diploma or its equivalent; demonstrate financial need; and be enrolled in the HVAC program at CSM. Applicants are required to also submit an essay explaining their financial need and how this scholarship will help them achieve their career goals. In addition, the scholarship recipient must write a thank you note explaining the importance of this scholarship toward their career goals.
For more information on how to apply for this scholarship, donate to this scholarship or create your own scholarship, visit CSM Foundation’s web page.