John E. Bowles

July 28, 1932 - April 8, 2023 John E. Bowles, an LA native and longtime resident of Hancock Park, passed away peacefully at home on April 8, 2023. He was predeceased by his wife of 28 years, Carol Everson Bowles. John was the son of Elizabeth Thompson Bowles and Dr. Dwight F. Bowles.

John attended Van Nuys High School, received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon, and later received an MBA from the University of Southern California.

After college, John was commissioned in the Army Artillery and was stationed for two years in Germany. He was proud of the fact that he was a third generation Army officer: his father served in World War II and his grandfather served in World War I.

John began his 53-year career in the financial services industry with Farmers Insurance Group. In the twelve years he spent at Farmers, he rose to the position of Assistant Investment Director. During those years, he was proudly associated with his uncle, John C. Tyler, co-founder of the Farmers Insurance Group. In 1969, John joined Lehman Brothers in New York City. He was later transferred to Lehman's Los Angeles office, where for nine years, he led the firm's brokerage operations as Regional Vice President. When Lehman Brothers merged with American Express, John was associated with Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney for the remainder of his career.

John was one of the early recipients of the Charter Financial Analyst designation and served on the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts Board of Directors. He was also president and a board member of the Los Angeles Bond Club, and a member of the Jonathan Club and Lake Arrowhead Country Club.

He leaves four children, Denise B. Dejean of Los Angeles, John D. Bowles of Naperville, Illinois, Nancy R. Bowles of Amsterdam, and Bronwyn Redknapp Starr of New York. He also leaves eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and his sister Shirley Bowles Kendall and brother Casey Brennan.

John will be fondly remembered by family, friends and neighbors as a warm and gregarious presence and life of the party.

One of his favorite pastimes was bragging about his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the Oregon Ducks. He had a lifelong love of sports and telling stories, and one of his favorites was about being born during the 1932 Olympics held in Los Angeles and attending the Games in 1984. His family asks that donations be made in his honor to the LA84 Foundation (la84.org) which supports youth sports programs in Los Angeles.