Obituary of James Bower

At peace with himself, other people and the world, James Murray David Bower passed from this life at his home on July 18, 2022, from complications associated with heart failure. Born in Ithaca, NY Jim lived his first ten years on Cascadilla Street, then he and family moved to Trumansburg in 1953, where he was graduated from high school, one of the youngest in the Class of 1960. His first jobs after graduation included Tompkins County Hospital, as an orderly, and at Morse Chain. Many knew Jim in his younger years as their friendly neighborhood bartender, always ready with a joke, a pun, and either a tee-hee or that big booming hearty laugh that we all loved. But Jim's serious accomplishments came in his chosen environmental field of resource recovery. He spent over forty years in wastewater treatment, first as a 3A operator in Trumansburg and Ithaca, later as a chief operator. As the pilot project operator at the Ithaca plant, he became the most experienced operator in North America of the innovative Deep Shaft treatment process. The company tapped him to consult at plants in Canada before he moved to Manitoba, where he worked for four years as the superintendent of wastewater treatment in Portage La Prairie. Returning from Canada, he resolved some outstanding health issues and returned to work at O'Brien & Gere Operations in 1993 as a contract operator. From there, he went to the Village Of Newark as Chief Operator, where he worked for ten years, retired in 2005, and went back to work the next day as a special projects coordinator for a major plant upgrade. His first heart attack forced a second retirement in 2006. That lasted until 2009, when he returned to the field as a technician/trainer for the New York Rural Water Association. He traveled most of New York State for two years, providing technical assistance to plant operators and conducting training classes for contact hours, retiring for the last time in 2011 on doctor's orders. Jim's interests outside of work included working in his wood shop and garage, cooking, drawing and painting, enjoying his home life, riding his Harley trike, and going to classic car shows. He especially loved seeing his son Josh become a wonderful parent and watching his beloved granddaughters grow. Jim is survived by Anita, his wife of thirty years; his son Joshua Carl Bower, Mandy Beem-Miller and their daughters Josephine and Evelyn Bower; his daughter Victoria of Texas, her children and grandchildren; his brother Carl Edward “Beaver” Bower of Enfield; his Murray Cuzzins and their families; numerous nieces and nephews; and a great number of wonderful friends and former co-workers. He is predeceased by his parents Harry David Bower and Josephine Murray Bower McLallen; his sister Mary Barkman and her son Chris Martin; his daughter Suzanne Callahan; Joshua's mother Rebecca; and Suzanne and Victoria's mother Sharon. The family would like to thank Jim's long-time cardiologist Dr. Kevin McGrody and staff of RCPG/Strong Cardiology and his primary care physicians Dr. Arthi Chawla and Dr. Eddie Laroche, all of whom worked diligently with Jim to optimize his health care. CareFirst Hospice at Home was phenomenal; the entire staff was responsive to every need and helped Jim so much. Special heartfelt thanks to Robin & Amanda. A celebration of life is being planned and will be announced at a later date. In lieu of cards or flowers, Jim asked that donations be made to the National Kidney Foundation in Suzanne Callahan's memory or to a conservation organization of your choice. A link to the National Kidney Foundation can be found by clicking the donations tab to the left of the screen.