Charles Clyde Bowden

Charles Clyde Bowden was born July 20, 1945 in Joliet, Illinois, to George and Berdina Bowden. He died peacefully on August 30, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. while taking an afternoon nap, and was found by his partner, literary collaborator, and co-author Molly Molloy. Chuck was 69 years old. He lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico the past five years. The cause of his death is unknown at this time and was unexpected. He is survived by his son, Jesse Niwa; a sister, Margaret Bowden and a brother, George Bowden. Chuck spent his childhood in Chicago, and moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1957 where he lived most of his adult life. He attended Tucson High School, the University of Arizona, and the University of Wisconsin, where he completed his graduate work in American Intellectual History. He was married twice, both marriages ending in divorce. Chuck was a writer and reporter, and focused on the issues of violence in Ciudad Juarez, the environmental impact of a disappearing water table in the southwest, the migration of the displaced peoples of Mexico, and the hummingbirds of Patagonia, Arizona. His interests were broad, and he wrote about what moved him passionately and viscerally. He loved to cook, and osso bucco and shrimp gumbo were specialties. When he got his teeth into a story, nothing could stop him from writing the truth. He looked at the dark underbelly of our world, and distilled his vision into poetry that seared the brain and touched our hearts. Bowden worked as a crime reporter for the Tucson Citizen early in his career. He wrote more than two dozen books including Blue Desert (1986), Blood Orchid (1995), Down By the River (2004), and Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields (2010). Charles Bowden is the recipient of many awards: He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. His work garnered him the Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction (1996), the Sidney Hillman Award, (1996), and the PEN Center USA First Amendment Award (2011). "I can only make a stab at writing the truth if I tell others it is fiction—that way nobody gets too upset with me." (Blood Orchid, Charles Bowden, 1995) In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of Chuck's favorite charities: a mental asylum for homeless people in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, called Vision En Accion, 201 Calle Diaz, Sunland Park, New Mexico, 88063. Chuck had an intense interest in birds and supported the International Crane Foundation, www.savingcranes.; also the Hummingbird Monitoring Network, www.hummonnet.org. A Memorial for Chuck Bowden will take place Saturday, November 1, 2014, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Rock Corral Ranch, Tumacacori, Arizona. Take I-19 to Exit 29 (Tumacacori exit), drive South on East Frontage Road 1/2 mile, turn right at Rock Corral Ranch Rd., and pass under the freeway to the ranch.