Founder of Calusa Prep leaves legacy of faith, service
Servant and leader — with an emphasis on the former — is how Dr. Linton Fowler wanted to be known.
Fowler — who founded Calusa Prep, helped start Florida Christian and served as a high school basketball, baseball, football and track coach — died Sunday at the age of 87.
He was a man of deep Christian faith, and nothing exemplified that more than his actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, which hit Miami’s Country Walk area with full force in August of 1992.
Immediately after the storm had passed, Fowler checked on his two sons, Tim and Tom, who both had houses across the canal from Country Walk. Both homes were badly damaged, but Tim and Tom were not injured.
“Let’s go,” said Tom Fowler, recalling the words his father told him that day. “Rather than worry about my house, we got in his car, and he drove to the homes of his parishioners (at Calusa Community Church, where he was a pastor).
“He didn’t have a list. He knew where they all lived. It took us forever to find people because street signs were down, and trees were blocking roads. But I remember we found one woman, a single mom, and Dad and I repaired her roof.
“That’s exactly who
Dad was.”
Dr. Fowler was also an underrated coach.
Just ask Octavio De La Grana, who played basketball for Fowler at Florida Christian and now serves
as a Miami Heat assistant coach.
De La Grana was a high-scoring guard who recalls his “Senior Night” in 1979 when his Florida Christian team lost by 30 points to Colonial Christian.
One week later, Florida Christian was preparing for a rematch with Colonial in a Class 1A district final.
“Florida Christian didn’t even have a gym in those days,” De La Grana said. “[Fowler] got his team together and took us to the Boys’ Club gym, and we started working on plays to get me open and away from Colonial’s box-and-one defense.
“We worked on me patiently coming off screens. He had a very good offensive mind, and we beat Colonial, 58-55. I never forgot that because it was one of the most phenomenal coaching jobs I’ve ever seen.”
De La Grana knows something on the subject — he works for NBA championship-winning Heat coach Erik Spoelstra — but that puts into context his respect for Fowler.
“I wouldn’t be with the Heat if not for Dr. Fowler,” De La Grana said. “Besides my father, he was the most influential person in my life. I kept up with him through the years.
“He was way ahead of his time as a high school coach. We were an undersized team at Florida Christian, but we had playbooks and curfews and out-of-bounds plays.
“It was a blessing to be coached by him.”
Fowler was highly competitive — but in a calm way. Nobody interviewed here remembers him saying a bad word or getting a technical foul.
He never won a state title as a coach. But he was the principal at Calusa
when his son Tim coached the Colts to the Class 1A state championship in 2006.
Legendary baseball coach Rich Hofman, who built Westminster Christian and Westminster Academy into national powerhouses, competed against Dr. Fowler on countless occasions.
In fact, Hofman’s first game as Westminster’s football coach — way back in 1968 — was against a Florida Christian team led by Fowler.
Fittingly, the game ended in a 19-19 tie.
“He was an early pioneer for Christian schools being competitive in sports,” Hofman said of Fowler. “He was extremely well-respected. He was an iconic figure at Florida Christian, larger than life at a small school.
“Dr. Fowler had a quiet demeanor, but there was a fire inside.”
Fowler, the oldest of six
children, grew up poor in Fayette, Alabama. There was no indoor plumbing, and Fowler’s father wanted Linton to work on the farm rather than attend school.
But Linton Fowler persisted, becoming the first person in his family to finish high school and also the first to finish college.
He attended Fayette County High School — where he played basketball — and then went to Auburn. But after becoming a Christian, he transferred to Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga. He also played basketball at Tennessee Temple.
Later, he earned his Master’s degree in Education from Barry University. He got his Doctorate degree in Education from Calvary Christian University.
In 1957, he married Miami’s Mary Ellen Bush, and they had three children: Tim Fowler, Tom Fowler and Tammy Munro.
Fowler began his career in 1964, teaching Bible classes and coaching basketball, baseball and football at Miami Christian.
In 1968, he left that school to help open Florida Christian, where he served as athletic director as well as the coach for football, basketball, baseball and track. He became Florida Christian’s third principal in 1973.
Then, in 1982, he started what ultimately became Calusa Prep. He called the school “Freedom Christian” at first, moving around to several different locations for five years.
“The parents and students moved with him because they believed in him,” said Tim Fowler, who is now Calusa’s headmaster after having worked with his father for 34 years. “It was incredible.”
Finally, the school settled in the Calusa neighborhood at 12515 SW 72
St. Because the location was in the middle of “horse country,” Fowler changed the school’s nickname from Saints to Colts.
Fowler leaves behind a multitude of people who loved him and his dignified manner.
One more example of that is Juan Valdes, who played baseball and basketball for Fowler at Florida Christian.
One day, Valdes was in class on the second floor, and he was habitually bouncing a basketball.
Fowler, who was on the first floor, asked him to stop.
“I don’t know how he knew it was me,” Valdes said. “But he always knew.
“He was one of the greatest men I ever met. He would help anybody and everybody. I really admired him.”