Carl Bowman cared for Crothersville.

He cared for the students, he cared for the athletes and he cared for the community.

Bowman, 69, passed away at 9:24 a.m. Monday at Norton Healthcare Pavilion in Louisville. The news hit the community hard, losing a man who dedicated more than four decades making a difference teaching and coaching at Crothersville.

Bowman, a 1971 Austin High School graduate, obtained his bachelor’s degree in education, majoring in health science and mathematics at Indiana State University, and his master’s degree from Indiana University Southeast.

He was hired as a teacher at Crothersville Community Schools in 1975, and during his tenure, he taught mathematics and physical education and coached cross-country, track and field and basketball.

Bowman retired from teaching after 44 years in 2019, but he still coached the Tigers’ cross-country and track and field programs over the past four years.

Crothersville Athletic Director Jacob Dunn, who is in his third year at CHS, met Bowman right when he got the job in 2020.

“It was a great joy working with Carl. My first day after signing my official paperwork, I had to go and get a COVID-19 plan for the health department before the teams could practice the next day. When the next day came, I went out to the course and met the XC team and Carl,” Dunn said. “From there, it was a great relationship. Carl was a mentor to a lot of people and was always one that I could run things by. He was very knowledgeable about the sport and the rules. He was just an overall good man and one I will miss very much.”

Bowman played basketball in middle and high school. Then his senior year, a coach at Austin talked him into throwing the shot put since he didn’t have any returning throwers.

That’s how Bowman got his first taste of track and field, and he coached the Tigers’ program for more than 40 years.

He won Coach of the Year in the Southern Athletic Conference seven different times. For boys cross-country, he won it in 1983. For boys track, he won it in 1982, 1990 and 1992. For girls cross-country, he won it in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

That’s 36 years between Bowman’s first SAC Coach of the Year honor and his last.

“He dedicated his adult life to this school and its athletes,” Dunn said. “I think he continued to coach because he still loved the sport, loved working with kids and loved seeing them succeed. He was a true players coach. I think he also enjoyed coaching and working with his son (XC assistant and girls track coach) Marc Bowman. Between his players and Marc, they kept him young.”

Even though Bowman stopped teaching in 2019, Dunn would still catch Bowman helping students with schoolwork, especially math problems.

Bowman taught Algebra 1, Algebra 2, geometry, precalculus and calculus at CHS, so he was quite the mathematician.

“I have heard a ton of stories about how he continued to help all students — athletes and nonathletes — with their math problems,” Dunn said. “He had the best interest of the kids in mind. One quote I have heard or saw a few times was, ‘It’s just simple algebra, folks.’”

One of Dunn’s favorites memories of Bowman was in his first year as AD and the Tigers got to go to Terre Haute for the IHSAA state cross-country meet after Kaylyn Holman qualified.

“Just knowing how happy he was to be at state again and how he would bring up that a school our size has an athlete at state is a pretty big accomplishment,” Dunn said. “It was an overall good day and a moment I will personally cherish.”

As the sad news came out Monday of Bowman’s passing, Dunn has noticed a lot of messages across multiple platforms about just how much Bowman impacted different people within the community.

A lot of his former athletes referred to him as “Coach Bo.”

“He has made a big impact on the lives of the students at Crothersville,” Dunn said. “I’m scrolling through Facebook and seeing all of his former students talking about how he was the best teacher ever and their favorite teacher just shows how much he meant to the community.”

Dunn said he has some ideas on how the athletic department will honor Bowman’s legacy, and those will be announced when they get finalized.

With the spring sports season right around the corner, Dunn said track and field is going to feel different without Bowman around.

“Carl was a great man. He was a very smart man and was a numbers guy. He would always have a smile on his face, and when listening to a joke, he had a smirk that would come out,” Dunn said. “Him not being here hasn’t set in yet, but I know during this upcoming track season, it will definitely be different. I really loved working with Carl.”

Bowman is survived by his three children, Marc Bowman, Ben Bowman and Lacey Howard; his three granddaughters, Sophie, Ellie and Mattie Howard (who he loved spending time with); and his two brothers, Ronnie Bowman Sr. and James Bowman.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at Adams Family Funeral Home & Crematory in Crothersville with burial to follow at Crothersville Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and after 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

Memorial donations may be given to Crothersville Community Schools for the cross-country and track programs, c/o Adams Family Funeral Home & Crematory, 110 E. Howard St., Crothersville, IN 47229.