In the weeks leading up to his death, Joseph L. Bowser, father of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, couldn’t help but to fulfill his civic duties. He continued to stay abreast, and even weigh in, on the happenings of the North Michigan Park community where he lived for more than 50 years.
“He was pretty much bedridden, but from the telephone he made sure things got done,” said Carmen Roberts-Williams, president of the North Michigan Park Civic Association and one of Bowser’s closest confidantes. “He was still giving directions [because] we had this big thing coming up [about] the bike lanes on South Dakota Avenue. He was still thinking of the community. If I wasn’t doing it, he was sending the directions down to me.”
Roberts-Williams said she met the late Bowser in 1983, shortly after she moved to North Michigan Park. By that time, she had known of him through his and her father’s involvement in the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal charity organization.
As she recounted, Grace Lewis, then president of the North Michigan Park Civic Association, picked her out of an audience at a community meeting to serve as recording secretary. Over the next few decades, Roberts-Williams worked with Bowser, who was civic association vice president, in that capacity.
She also served as a member of Bowser’s campaign team during his late 1980s advisory neighborhood commissioner run.
Other memories of Bowser that came to mind for Roberts-Williams included his fights against a liquor store that wanted to operate in the neighborhood and a low-income senior living community that community members thought would change the character of North Michigan Park, mostly composed of single-family homes.
Some of Bowser’s other feats included his advocacy for the North Michigan Park Recreation Center, his efforts to connect Faith United Church of Christ with the greater community, and his conceptualization of North Michigan Park’s annual community day.
This year, for the first time since Roberts-Williams moved to North Michigan Park, the North Michigan Park Civic Association will not be hosting the event, Roberts-Williams said. In lieu of that, community members conducted a bulk trash collection and paper shredding event on July 27. There are also plans in the works for a community expo in October, during which community members will get a chance to speak with D.C. government agency representatives about their offerings.
These activities, Roberts-Williams told The Informer, will continue in the spirit of Bowser.
“We’re going to struggle through it,” Roberts-Williams said. “I have leaders in front of me [and] we’re doing what we have to do. We should remember that Mr. Bowser was THE leader for North Michigan Park. He will be truly missed.”
A Life of Service to Ward 5
Bowser died on Aug. 2 at the age of 88. The cause of death hasn’t been revealed. He’s survived by his wife, Joan Bowser, and four children, including D.C. Mayor Bowser, who also turned 52 the same day her father died.
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker (D) and other local leaders took to social media to extend their condolences to the Bowser family.
“The entire Ward 5 community mourns the passing of Joe Bowser, a longtime resident and leader of North Michigan Park. Mr. Bowser leaves behind a tremendous legacy. My heartfelt condolences are extended to Mr. Bowser’s beloved wife Joan Bowser, Mayor Bowser, and the entire family,” Parker wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In 2015, Bowser held the BIble as Mayor Bowser was sworn into office for the first time. She would later return the favor when her father became an officer of the North Michigan Park Civic Association.
By the time he served in an advisory role with the North Michigan Park community, Bowser had several years of experience as North Michigan Park Civic Association president and 10-term advisory neighborhood commissioner under his belt.
Mayor Bowser followed in her father’s footsteps in public service, even going above and beyond. She went from advisory neighborhood commissioner, to Ward 4 D.C. council member, and eventually a three-term mayor. On Saturday, she released a statement in reflection of the Bowser patriarch’s impact on her life path.
“For 52 years, my dad has been at my side — guiding me, cheering for me, loving me,” Bowser said. “He was the first person to take me to a community meeting. The first person to teach me that if something needs to be fixed, then step up and fix it — and finish any job you start. My first example of a public servant. The first person – along with my mom – to show me unconditional love.”
A Lifetime Washingtonian and District Servant
Bowser, born on October 5, 1935, attended St. Augustine’s Catholic School in Northwest and Armstrong High School (now Friendship Public Charter School Armstrong Campus). He later attended what was then known as Federal City College.
In 1950, Bowser married Joan (Davis) Bowser. Five children came out of that union: Mercia, Martin, Marvin, Mark and Muriel. Mercia died from COVID-related complications in 2020.
By the mid-1950s, Bowser started working in the D.C. public school system, where he would spend most of his 42 years of service in the Buildings and Grounds division. He served in that capacity while fulfilling his role as one of the District’s first advisory neighborhood commissioners and a chair of his commission’s public works committee.
Longtime D.C. politico Harry Thomas, Jr. said that, on his path to public office, he took cues not only from his father, Harry Thomas, Sr., but Bowser, Raymond Dickey, Sr. and other older Black men who served on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5A.
Those men, he said, placed the interests of the community above any selfish desires.
“In that generation, people put themselves up for service,” said Thomas, currently chair of the Ward 5 Democrats and advisory neighborhood commissioner of Single-Member District 5C06, which includes the Brentwood and Langdon neighborhoods in Northeast. “After elections, they agreed to serve the leadership of whoever won. They let the voters decide. And once that happened, they got together and worked toward a common goal.”
During his childhood, Thomas saw his father and Bowser participate in the Statehood Constitutional Convention where delegates wrote and approved the constitution for the State of New Columbia. At the hyperlocal level, he watched as the duo thwarted the District’s plans to construct a freeway through the Brookland neighborhood and took to the streets in late night hours to hang up campaign signs during election season.
In the 1990s, Thomas followed in his father’s footsteps, serving alongside Bowser on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5A. As Ward 5 D.C. Council member, Thomas continued that strong working relationship with Bowser as they collaborated around the funding and construction of the North Michigan Park Recreation Center and traffic safety along Sargent Road, where a young pedestrian suffered serious injuries in an accident.
As Thomas, who’s also director of the Washington Nationals Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program and head coach of the D.C. Elite traveling softball team, prepares to take the D.C. Elite back to the MLB RBI Softball World Series, where they finished second place last year, he keeps Bowser, a fan of youth sports, at the forefront of his mind.
Thomas said similar thoughts about Bowser came about as it related to Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School and the new D.C. Infrastructure Academy training center at Spingarn High School. Both institutions, he said, reflected the Bowser patriarch’s strong support of trades-based education.
“I hope they attach some Bowser legacy over there,” Thomas said. “He used to talk to me about how Black excellence meant you can be whatever you wanted to be. He was part of all that history. I’m sure it’s hard for our mayor now, but he’s given her all the guidance for life.”
The Bowser Legacy Continues in North Michigan Park
Gordon-Andrew Fletcher is chairman of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5A and the late Bowser’s neighbor of five years. He said the Bowser family patriarch often spoke highly about the mayor and her accomplishments, past and present– starting with her service as an advisory neighborhood commissioner.
Those conversations, Fletcher said, counted among the numerous exchanges he had with Bowser since becoming an advisory neighborhood commissioner in 2017. Those words often turned into action, as seen in 2021 when, through a resolution approved by ANC 5A, the North Michigan Park community revived the Orange Hats, a popular community watch group of the 1980s and 1990s.
As Fletcher recounted, Mr. Bowser, then a wheelchair user, joined him and other community members as they each patrolled North Michigan Park with a bright orange hat atop their head.
“He was civically engaged, doing things for the community,” Fletcher told The Informer. “He may have slowed down in terms of his mobility, but he had his sharp mind and great memory.”
As Fletcher and his wife await the birth of their second daughter, he has committed himself to helping to maintain North Michigan Park’s reputation as the quintessential District neighborhood for families. He said that legacy residents like Bowser often collaborated with newer, younger residents to maintain North Michigan Park’s character.
That work would likely carry on with Mrs. Bowser at the front, Fletcher noted.
“Mr. Bowser passed away but Mrs. Bowser is strong just like Mayor Bowser,” Fletcher said. “She will be around for a long time coming. Before Mayor Bowser [became the mayor], they were a great community family, and that’s how the mayor became so awesome. It all started with their dedication to North Michigan Park. I know all of that will continue on.”
Excellent article Sam and excellent writing too.