JAACOB BOWDEN
Coach, Trainer & Pro Golfer
Dad's Visitation & Funeral Service
February 28, 2022 11:25 Filed in: Miscellaneous
I’m not sure how to start a post like this…so, here goes.
The short story is that my Dad Joe passed away in his sleep last night.
As for the slightly longer version…
Many of you know that since 2006’ish he’s had 3 primary battles with multiple myeloma which, for those that don’t know, is a cancer of plasma cells. Fortunately, over time the health care revolving around myeloma has improved during those years and he’s managed to find his way back to a state of remission each time.
However, each round certainly took its toll on him.
During his healthy adult life, he was 6’4” and generally ranged around 200-210, less in summer and more in winter. Lately, he’d been down in the 150’s and I think even the high 140’s. As you can imagine, that’s skin and bones for someone of that height.
In mid-January, he was working in his shop, went to sit down on the shop stool, slightly missed the stool, didn’t have the muscle any longer to catch himself, fell, and broke his hip. The hip surgery went seemingly well until his blood pressure dropped in rehab. After a few weeks of ups and downs in intensive care trying to locate the source of the sepsis (when the body basically attacks itself trying to deal with an infection) and dealing with a laundry list of various problems/complications, he took a turn and the doctor’s recommended transitioning him to the comfort of hospice this past week, where he stayed for about 4 days until finally passing Sunday evening during his sleep at 9:38 pm.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic-related hospital protocols, in the past few weeks my brother Aaron and I were fortunately both able to get some quality phone/visit time with him, along with my mom, plus his two brothers and two sisters.
Today has been a rough day all-around for the family with sorting out logistics amidst low sleep and dealing with our own individual emotions, but my supportive wife Jen has kindly put together the included flyer with details about the visitation and funeral, for those that are interested in going or sending regards.
The photo in the flyer is from 2013. Dad was several months out recovering from his 2nd bout with myeloma. He managed to recover strongly enough to fly out to Bandon Dunes in Oregon and watch me compete in the Speedgolf World Championships. Of course, I wanted to play well for him and tried too hard during the 1st round, but then he helped me relax for the 2nd round and I subsequently managed to tie the championship record for golf score. He was always there for me like that with my sports.
If you’ve got any photos of my Dad that you’d like us to share during the services, please send them to me and I’ll try to make sure they get included.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and words. I always try to respond to everyone that reaches out to me, but if I’m slow or don’t get to it right away, hopefully you’ll understand.
The short story is that my Dad Joe passed away in his sleep last night.
As for the slightly longer version…
Many of you know that since 2006’ish he’s had 3 primary battles with multiple myeloma which, for those that don’t know, is a cancer of plasma cells. Fortunately, over time the health care revolving around myeloma has improved during those years and he’s managed to find his way back to a state of remission each time.
However, each round certainly took its toll on him.
During his healthy adult life, he was 6’4” and generally ranged around 200-210, less in summer and more in winter. Lately, he’d been down in the 150’s and I think even the high 140’s. As you can imagine, that’s skin and bones for someone of that height.
In mid-January, he was working in his shop, went to sit down on the shop stool, slightly missed the stool, didn’t have the muscle any longer to catch himself, fell, and broke his hip. The hip surgery went seemingly well until his blood pressure dropped in rehab. After a few weeks of ups and downs in intensive care trying to locate the source of the sepsis (when the body basically attacks itself trying to deal with an infection) and dealing with a laundry list of various problems/complications, he took a turn and the doctor’s recommended transitioning him to the comfort of hospice this past week, where he stayed for about 4 days until finally passing Sunday evening during his sleep at 9:38 pm.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic-related hospital protocols, in the past few weeks my brother Aaron and I were fortunately both able to get some quality phone/visit time with him, along with my mom, plus his two brothers and two sisters.
Today has been a rough day all-around for the family with sorting out logistics amidst low sleep and dealing with our own individual emotions, but my supportive wife Jen has kindly put together the included flyer with details about the visitation and funeral, for those that are interested in going or sending regards.
The photo in the flyer is from 2013. Dad was several months out recovering from his 2nd bout with myeloma. He managed to recover strongly enough to fly out to Bandon Dunes in Oregon and watch me compete in the Speedgolf World Championships. Of course, I wanted to play well for him and tried too hard during the 1st round, but then he helped me relax for the 2nd round and I subsequently managed to tie the championship record for golf score. He was always there for me like that with my sports.
If you’ve got any photos of my Dad that you’d like us to share during the services, please send them to me and I’ll try to make sure they get included.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and words. I always try to respond to everyone that reaches out to me, but if I’m slow or don’t get to it right away, hopefully you’ll understand.