Army veteran was beloved guardian of W&M building
WILLIAMSBURG — Raymond Bernard Bowman Sr. was simply known as the “Keeper of the Wren.”
For 36 years, he was the majordomo at William & Mary’s Sir Christopher Wren Building on the historic campus.
He died this month at 89, just a few weeks prior to his 90th birthday, after retiring in 2018.
Bernard, as he was known to friends, family and associates at William & Mary, took his work very seriously and oversaw a multitude of activities within the walls of the Wren — including weddings, concerts, dinners, fraternity and sorority initiations, secret society meetings, convocations and various college ceremonies, such as the annual Yule Log.
More importantly, he also handled security; Bowman was the keeper of the master keys for all parts of the building.
He often worked 10-12 hours a day if there was a major nighttime event or program.
“Bernard Bowman has been among a special band of guardians of the Wren and shepherds of those who came within its walls,” former William & Mary presidents W. Taylor Reveley III and Timothy Sullivan wrote in a tribute to their friend and former colleague.
“He also was a friend to all who came to the Wren, especially those who needed aid and comfort — whether frazzled tourists, anxious brides, really anxious mothers of the bride, a frustrated student or professor of a William & Mary president concerned about a major event.”
Traditionally, Bowman was on hand at Senior Day just prior to graduation to make sure the students appropriately rang the bell in the Wren’s cupola.
Louise Lambert Kale, executive director of the historic campus for 19 years of Bowman’s tenure, often told folks that she could never have managed the Wren without him.
“I worked for Bernard,” she used to say. Kale loved and respected him, the family said.
Kimberly Renner, the historic campus’ former assistant director who worked with Bowman his last 10 years at the college, described him as “just wonderful, amazing, positive and lover of people. He was very good at reading people and knowing if they needed help. He was just the perfect person for the role at the Wren.”
She recalled that he always had a sewing kit handy should a hem need a quick repair at a wedding. He handled logistics and soothed brides — and their mothers — at over 1,000 weddings, sometimes multiple a day, Reveley and Sullivan wrote.
“Bernard had three loves: people, music and his family. I loved to hear him talking about his wife, Rosetta (Lee Christian),” she added. His death came just a month or so before their 70th wedding anniversary.
Bowman graduated from Bruton Heights School, a former all-Black school that closed in 1989. He played the saxophone in high school and tap danced in the special services while in the U.S. Army in Germany.
He was employed as a custodial supervisor for 25 years with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation before joining the college at the Wren.
Bowman played a “mean harmonica,” which Renner said she often heard echoing through the Wren hallways. “He loved to play ‘Amazing Grace’ and the William & Mary alma mater.” Also, he enjoyed jazz — Jimmy Smith on the organ, Kenny G on the sax and Dave Brubeck on the piano.
The highest honor bestowed on a member of William & Mary’s support staff is the Charles and Virginia Duke Award for exceptional service. Bowman received it in 2009.
“Great institutions are enriched by the work and lives of special people. Bernard Bowman was such a person,” Reveley and Sullivan wrote. “As keeper of the Wren Building, Bernard worked in William & Mary’s most sacred space. He knew it and proved more than worthy of the honor … His reverence for the space was evident in the way he made all who came feel both welcomed and honored.
“Mr. Bowman was that rarest of persons. He was a Virginia gentleman.”