James Stewart Stowe

James (Jim) Stewart Stowe, age 88, departed this life on November 14, 2023, at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, surrounded by his loved ones.

Jim was born on August 8, 1935, in San Antonio, Texas, to parents Catherine Ross Stowe, and James Arnold Stowe. Jim attended Saint Cecilias Catholic Elementary School and continued his Catholic schooling at Central High Catholic School for Boys for the first two years of high school. He later attended Brackenridge High School where he graduated in May 1953.

On August 1, 1953, Jim married Faye Annette Currie and began his life as a family man. After marrying, Jim attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where he studied pre-law. Before he completed his degree, he joined the Air Force that same year (1953).

Jim completed his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base. Then, he went to Denver, Colorado, for three months of specialized training to become an Intelligence Photo Interpreter, working with top secret information. He then was transferred to Fort Worth's Carswell Air Force Base. While there, he was sent to French Morocco, Africa for three more months where he and his group lived and worked out of tents. He returned to Carswell Air Force Base where he completed his four years of service. He was in the reserves for an additional four years.

After his service experience, Jim attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce. (Jim later studied for and became a licensed Real Estate Agent). After graduation, he worked for Del Monte in the sales department. He then went to work for Missouri Pacific Railroad in the office of the railroad's president. Jim wanted to explore his
passion for sales and decided to leave the railroad and join Texaco for the next ten years. While at Texaco, Jim's responsibilities included real estate, where he oversaw the renovation of older service stations bringing his futuristic vision of combining gas stations with convenience stores. Jim also served as an upper-level sales representative in his employment with Texaco. When Jim retired from Texaco, he
purchased a distributorship and opened the infamous BODS, a gas station/convenience store combination, in Harrison, Arkansas. BODS' name derived from utilizing the first initial of Jim's four children in order of birth.

Jim continued working in upper-level management and sales positions for Borden, Rust Craft Greetings and American Masters. In 1983, Jim was a co-founder of Bentley House, Limited, an art publishing company, where he continued utilizing his sales expertise and people skills to help create a successful international business in a few short years. Jim retired from Bentley House in 2002.

Jim enjoyed boating, fishing, spending time with his family, playing with his dog, playing cards, and gardening. He also enjoyed watching/feeding the animals that visited his yard at his dream home on Canyon Lake. He enjoyed that home for 33 years before moving to Fort Worth to be closer to his family.

Jim was an avid traveler. He flew on the luxurious Concord from New York, New York to London, England, which took only three hours flying time. Jim told stories of how the plane elongated from the heat of travelling at Mach 2 and how he was allowed to go into the cockpit to record this momentous occasion. Jim visited all the states in the union. His favorite states to visit were Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Maine. In addition to road travel, Jim enjoyed cruising, and was a 3-star mariner. Additionally, Jim had accrued over 1 million miles via flight.

Some of the countries Jim experienced were Panama, Bahamas, Mexico, Aruba, Antigua, Ireland (6 times), Scotland (3 times), Lichtenstein, Italy, England, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Austria, Northern Ireland, and Venezuela. Jim enjoyed his adventures and enjoyed sharing those experiences with others.

Jim is survived by his loving wife Faye Currie Stowe. He was the devoted father of his four children (and their spouses); James, Jr. "Buz" (Nurhayat) Stowe, Owen (Nan Setser) Stowe, David (Lisa) Stowe, Susan (Casey) Pattison. He is remembered with love by his grandchildren (and their spouses); Amanda Stowe, Bryan (Tracy) Stowe, Kristen (Bradley) Vick, Jennifer (Eric) Melin, Michael Stowe, Alex Yoakum, and Victoria Pattison. He leaves behind his great grandchildren, Hailey, Ashlyn, Addison Vick, Nicholas,
Mason, Cody, and Colt Stowe.

Jim is predeceased by his father, Stewart Stowe, mother Catherine Ross and grandson Stephen Stowe.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, November 24, 2023, at Lucas Funeral Home, 1601 S. Main Street, Keller, TX, 76244 at 10:00 AM. Visitation will be at 9:00 AM.

Graveside services will be held on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at Wetmore Cemetery, 15041 Higgins Rd., San Antonio, TX at 10:00 AM.