James Alexander Fowler

James Alexander Fowler

Greenville - James Alexander Fowler of Greenville, a nationally recognized photographer and a leader in the conservation of North American native orchids, died during a research outing June 25.

Jim took his last photo near the summit of Mount Mitchell at precisely 3 pm. Within 15 minutes he was gone, of a heart attack, doing what he loved to do, in a place he loved to be. Jim's last photos were of the purple fringed orchid, a flower he photographed every year on the winding road leading to the summit of Mount Mitchell. On that outing he was gathering measurements and photos of the flower for the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

Jim was known for his orchid photographs. His photos appeared on each of the ten orchid stamps issued by the Postal Service in February of 2020. A member of the Native Orchid Conference, he traveled near and far in the United States and Canada photographing wild orchids in their habitat.

He was the author of two books, "Wild Orchids of South Carolina," and "Orchids, Carnivorous Plants, and Other Wildflowers of the Green Swamp, North Carolina."

Beginning 2013 he published a blog, jfowlerphotography.com, with narratives of his photography outings.

Born October 6, 1946, Jim was a native of Bennettsville, S.C. and a long-time resident of Greenville. He is survived by his loving husband, Walter Ezell, his son, Dylan E. Fowler, and his brother John D. Fowler, Jr. He was the younger son of John D. Fowler and Gwendolyn Matheson Fowler.

He was an advocate for gay rights and instrumental in the founding the Greenville chapter of PFLAG.

He had two degrees from Clemson and was a software engineer and an Army veteran.

There will be a celebration of life at 2 pm, Sunday, July 11 at the Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (1135 State Park Road). A live stream of the service will also be available at https://www.facebook.com/GreenvilleUU/live (A Facebook account is not required to access this link.) A reception will be held outdoors after the service.

Masks will be required for all attendees and seating will be distanced. Seating capacity will be limited due to COVID precautions. Please consider taking advantage of the live-stream if feasible.

Memorials may be made to The Nature Conservancy, 27 Cleveland Street, Ste. 203, Greenville, SC 29601.