Bower, Bruce F. MD or "Dr. B" as he was affectionately known by many, passed away peacefully at the age of 84 after a long battle with the Lewy Body variant of Alzheimer's disease in his home in Needham on July 6th, 2018 surrounded by his loving family. Born in Buffalo NY in 1933 to Philip Graydon Bower and Evelyn McLoney Bower, he was raised in Alexandria, VA as the oldest of two sons. He graduated George Washington High School, 1950 and Vanderbilt University, 1954, and received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1958.
Following his internship and residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in 1960, he did his post graduate work at the National Institute of Health in Kidney and Electrolyte Metabolism and then moved to San Francisco where he studied Clinical Endocrinology at the University of California. In 1965, he moved back to Boston where he completed a senior residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and began private practice in Endocrinology at Hartford Hospital. He held the position of Chief, Diabetes & Endocrinology Division at Hartford Hospital from 1975-2002. He practiced medicine to a high standard, one that focused on compassion and personalized care for his patients.
In addition to his private practice, he taught at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine from 1986-2004. He authored numerous articles for national medical journals including Connecticut Medicine, Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Over his career, he received awards for his medical expertise and patient care from the American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists where he was also a board member from 1996-2005. His greatest recognitions came when he was awarded Distinction in Clinical Endocrinology from the American Association Clinical Endocrinology in 2004 and Distinguished Clinician from the American Diabetes Association in 2000.
Bruce recognized early the impact of molecular biology and genomics on the "new individualized personalized medicine", i.e., "the right dose of the right medication for the right person - the first time." And so in his retirement he consulted and ultimately joined the board of Genomas Laboratory where as Chief Clinical Consultant he focused his energy on the development of DNA and biomarker-guided tools for clinical use in the treatment of patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. He was passionate about advancing the clinical application of genomics and molecular biology to clinical practice.
Bruce met his wife, Elizabeth Holbrook, in 1960 while she was working at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. They were married the same year. The births of their sons Bruce and George followed and by 1965, the family settled in West Hartford, CT where his daughter Elizabeth (Lisa) and Sarah were born. He was a loving husband and devoted father who showed his growing family the importance of hard work, integrity, being a gentleman and the value and gratification that comes from actively cultivating new knowledge and interests. He passed his early passions for photography, fly fishing, gardening, and cooking to his children, and enjoyed playing tennis, golf, paddle and bridge with friends and family, both at home in Hartford and at his lake home in Sunapee, NH. He loved to travel, but was ultimately most happy at the dinner table surrounded by his 4 children, their spouses, 8 grandchildren and wife, Betsy.
In addition to his wife of nearly 58 years, Elizabeth Holbrook Bower, he leaves 4 children: Bruce Duncan Bower and his wife Susan E. Bower of Menlo Park, CA; George Graydon Bower and his wife Aimee L. Bower of Wellesley, MA; Lisa Bower Foley and her husband Stephen F. Foley of Wellesley, MA; and Sarah Bower Bua and her husband Robert N. Bua of Wellesley, MA; 8 loving grandchildren of whom he was very proud: Christopher and Kathryn Bower; Graydon and Sarah Bower; Libby and Maddie Foley; and Griffin and Cecily Bua. He is also survived by his brother Phillip Jeffrey Bower, and his 2 nieces.
A Christian service will be held on Saturday, July 14th at Wellesley Village Church in Wellesley, MA at 11am. A luncheon will be held on September 29th at The Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, CT to celebrate his life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to support the research efforts of the "Albers Lab Research Fund" at Mass General Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease in recognition of the outstanding care provided to Bruce by his neurologist, Dr. Mark Albers, or to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Checks should be written out and mailed to: Dr. Mark W. Albers, M.D., Ph.D. Written to: "Albers Lab Research Fund" Mass General Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease, 114 Sixteenth St, Room 2003 Charlestown, MA 02129 or Johns Hopkins Medical School, Written to: "Johns Hopkins School of Medicine" Memo line: School of Medicine" 750 East Pratt Street, 17th Flr Baltmore, MD 21202. Remembrances can be sent to: Betsy Bower at 865 Central Ave., B-404, Needham, MA 02492.