Deacon Michael A. Bowen

Michael Anthony Bowen, Roman Catholic deacon and beloved husband and father, died on January 19, 2021 from complications of the pulmonary hypertension that he had battled over the past two years.

He is survived by his wife, Sara Armbruster Bowen; his children, Rebecca (Eric) Sigmon, Christopher (Amanda Morris), John, Marguerite (Bruno) Morlan and James; and his grandchildren Jade and Hailey Bowen and Anna, Laura and Stephen Sigmon. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Daniel Bowen, and his sisters, Mary Elizabeth Bowen and Gabrielle Edwards; and other relatives and friends who cherish his memory, as well as his brother deacons of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Judith (Carter-Waller) Bowen, and by his baby sister, Mary Catherine Bowen.

Michael was born in 1951. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and was educated by the Jesuits at Rockhurst High School and Rockhurst College. He was a 1976 graduate of the Harvard Law School, and spent 39 years as a litigation attorney at the Foley & Lardner law firm. He retired from the partnership in 2015.

Michael was an accomplished novelist. His first novel, Can’t Miss, published in 1987, described the adventures of the first woman to play major league baseball, an event he thought could happen by 1990 (that we are still awaiting). He then published 19 successful mystery novels under his own name and that of his pseudonym, Hillary Bell Locke, as well as a 2002 imagining of a successful 2004 presidential campaign by Hillary Clinton. His final book, False Flag in Autumn, was released in 2019 just before his illness was diagnosed.

Michael discerned a religious calling in the early 2000s and, after several years of formation, was ordained a Roman Catholic deacon in 2012 by Archbishop Jerome Listecki. He served at St. Monica Parish in Whitefish Bay, which had been his home parish since 1977. His monthly homilies, which always began with the address “Fellow Pilgrims,” challenged and entertained parishioners. He particularly cherished the joy of baptizing children and the privilege of sharing the faith journeys of parishioners with health issues. His own journey with pulmonary hypertension was eased by the wisdom he gained from his pastoral visits. He was happy to serve his fellow deacons as current president of the Archdiocesan Deacon Senate. His pastor, Fr. Paul Hartmann, notes that Mike had a wonderful blend of mind and heart. He balanced his intellectual insights into his faith with a deep understanding of the needs of parishioners. He never turned down an opportunity for ministry; rather, he found every ministerial opportunity to be a source of inspiration and growth.

Mike was an inspirational husband and father who supported his wife and five children with patience and humor. He met Sara when they were classmates at Harvard Law School, and gave up his hometown of Kansas City so Sara could come home to Milwaukee and be near her aging parents. He supported Sara in their domestic life, often coming home from a stressful day as a corporate litigator to cook dinner for their large family. He cherished his parents, particularly as he went through the challenges of parenting himself.

His children knew he would always be at their sports and cultural events if he possibly could. He used his creativity in photography (inherited from his father Harold) to memorialize the events of all their lives and on several occasions, surprised their teammates at the end of a sports season with individual game portraits of each player. In lieu of filling his attorney’s office with his many awards and honors, Mike plastered his walls with pictures of his children, his “cubs,” whom he regarded as the pinnacle of his life achievement.

He loved baseball, coached his children’s little league teams, and shared so many afternoons and evenings with his family at County Stadium and Miller Park.

There are many wonderful memories of Mike’s grace and fun. He opened the wide world to Sara and all his children, and the huge variety of their interests and accomplishments reflects the intellectual curiosity he nourished and the support he gave them to do their best.

His brother Dan wrote: “I can’t stop thinking of Michael and everything he’s done. He lived life large and accomplished everything he ever set out to do. He’ll always be my role model for living the best life.”

His longtime law partner Tom Shriner wrote the following appreciation of Mike’s life and career:

“Mike Bowen was – first, last, and most importantly – a good man. Did I mention that he was a bit eccentric? Whether it was the green wool cape and the Greek fisherman’s cap that he sported as he walked down Wisconsin Avenue during the lunch hour while reading some French novel (in French), or the skull-and-crossbones pirate flag that he taped to his window when he won a case, he was not timid about making people aware of him. He was especially clever with words, frequently coming forth with very funny ‘spontaneous’ quips (which he had obviously been perfecting for a while, waiting for the occasion to deliver them). In the 44 years that I knew him, I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. He preached the Gospel not just from a pulpit, but from the way he lived his life. We shall not, I fear, see his like again. May he rest in peace.”

Mike knew he was facing a strong risk of death in his last days. His last text to Sara, written just before he was placed on a ventilator in a desperate attempt to keep his oxygen levels up, reads in part: “I think there is a one-fourth to one-third risk that I am not going to make it. God’s will be done. If it comes to that please share my deep gratitude for the care, compassion and competence of all my caregivers. Please tell the cubs that I love them (and you of course) and that their examples and yours have inspired me. Please tell them above all I didn’t quit. I didn’t give up. I have fought for my life with all I have and will keep on doing so.”

One of Mike’s last written requests to Sara, after intubation silenced his oral voice, was that people not risk their safety to attend his funeral in the current health crisis. His funeral Mass at St. Monica Parish at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 25th will be private, but it will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/stmonicamke and available for later viewing as well.

Deacon Mike’s family is thankful for all the support they have received since his collapse at church on January 9th.  They ask that in lieu of flowers, you support organizations dear to his heart: Franciscan Peacemakers, www.franciscanpeacemakers.org, which supports women seeking to escape human trafficking; Women’s Care Center, www.womenscarecenter.org/milwaukee, which supports women and their preborn children; or St. Monica Parish, www.st-monica.org, his spiritual home.