Pamela Bowden
Pamela Bowden, figure skater, dancer,
and lifetime Citibank employee,
died Aug. 30, 2004, nearly five years
after being diagnosed with GIST.
Daughter of the late Alfred F. and Emily
C. Bowden, Pamela was 54 and
lived in Garden City, New York. A
graduate of Molloy College in Rockville
Centre, New York, Pamela served as a
Senior Systems Analyst at Citibank. She
had been involved with Citibank’s home
banking system since its
inception during the mid-1980s. Pamela
thoroughly enjoyed her work,
and was determined to put in a full day
at the office (driving 25 miles each
way) no matter how much she was
struggling with fatigue or other side
effects. She worked up until the day
before her hospitalization in late
August. An accomplished figure skater,
Pamela had devoted a great deal of time
to skating lessons and practice
sessions, passing several levels of
tests as a young woman. Later in life
she turned her boundless energy to tap
dancing, working with an outstanding
instructor to develop a unique and
graceful combination of tap and ballroom
dancing. Along the way, Pamela also
found time for tennis, swimming, diving,
cross-country skiing and kayaking,
participating in these sports with much
vigor and joy. Pamela had a great
affection for Lake Placid, New York,
where she spent both winter and summer
vacations. It was in the Adirondacks
that she acquired several pairs of
antique ice skates to add to her
significant collection of such
artifacts. It was also in this part of
the world that Pamela befriended “Smitty,”
a young black bear who had been
converted into a “piano bear” for the
Hotel Saranac restaurant, following an
unfortunate confrontation with an
automobile. A few years ago she brought
Smitty home to Garden City, where he
became an important part of the Bowden
household, seated happily at the player
piano in the living room. Subsequently,
Smitty became known to many as the
subject of several delightful narratives
written by Pamela. Pamela participated
in the phase II clinical trials of both
Gleevec (Dana- Farber Cancer Institute,
December 2000), and SU11248 (Memorial
Sloan- Kettering, January 2003). She is
survived by her three older sisters,
Barbara, Juliana Schmitt and Emily. A
Mass of Resurrection was celebrated
Sept. 3 at St. Joseph’s Church in Garden
City.
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