BERRY DUNBAR BOWEN

1952-2020

Berry Dunbar Bowen passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, July 21st. Berry was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 6, 1952 to Annis Hilty Bowen and William Jackson Bowen. He grew up in Houston and Winter Park, Florida, and attended Phillips Exeter Academy for high school. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Rice University earning degrees in both philosophy and fine arts. He earned his JD in 1980 from The University of Texas School of Law.

He began his law career at Andrews Kurth, and later started his own law firm, Bowen Lawyers. Berry was known for taking cases of the downtrodden and underdog, often pro bono.

In 1988 Berry married Sandra Skipwith and had two daughters Susannah Skipwith Bowen and Elizabeth Berry Bowen. In 1995 he married Heather Tinkham and they adopted a son, Robey Maxim Bowen, from Saratov, Russia. Berry’s three children were the light of his life, and he will be remembered as a dad who would do anything for his kids.

Berry had many interests and curiosities and was a true intellectual. He had a passion for music, especially modern, jazz, and anything obscure — his knowledge of music was encyclopedic and his vinyl collection legendary. He started the Foundation for Modern Music to showcase contemporary composers, and and at one time he was a part owner of the Sugar Hill Recording Studio in Houston.

Berry loved art as well, and enjoyed collecting and viewing art of all variety, especially modern and contemporary. Berry was a fine artist in his own right, and his abstract and impressionistic paintings and drawings hang on many walls of many family and friends. His literary interests were wide and his library extensive; and never left a conversation without suggesting his latest “reading material.”

Berry was also known for his gourmet cooking and was never happier than cooking for those he loved. He was also an avid fisherman and was often on his boat fishing the Texas Coast.

He was a one-of-a-kind, gentle, and fun-loving soul who certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and left our lives too soon. As one friend put it, “Berry was an original and sometimes what gets lost in the appreciation of his eccentricities and connoisseurship was just how kind he was. It is definitely a less interesting world without him.” He lit up a room with his intellect, joy, sense of humor, and generous concern for others.

He is preceded in death by his father, Jack Bowen. He is survived by his mother, Annis Bowen, whom he delighted in spending time with and cherished the privilege to care for in her later years; His children Susie Tucker and husband Payson, Lizzy Bowen, and Max Bowen; His siblings Shelley Bowen

Hatfield, Barbara Bowen Cauble, William “Will” Jackson Bowen, Jr., along with numerous nieces and nephews. Berry was also thrilled about becoming a grandfather in just under a month, and will miss meeting his first grandchild Eliot Payson Tucker II.

A celebration of Berry’s life will be held when circumstances permit his many friends and family to gather in his memory. In lieu of flowers, for those desiring the family suggests that memorial gifts be designated to the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. These gifts may be made online at donate.rice.edu/shepherdschool.