Dr. William Tscharner Bowles (age 85) died peacefully at home on July 12, 2015, surrounded by his friends and family.

William (“Bill”) is survived by two children, daughter Kathryn Carmody (Phil) and son Jeffrey Bowles, granddaughter Brigit Carmody, former wife Mary Noel Kerth, and many friends.

He was born to Dr. Frank H. Bowles Sr. and Helene Tscharner Bowles on June 11, 1930 in Oakland, California. He attended Stanford University (BA 1952), where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He was a superb musician and could have been a concert pianist, but instead chose a career in medicine. His summer jobs during college included playing piano with Merv Griffin’s band, and chauffeuring Ronald Reagan around Yellowstone Park during the filming of “Cattle Queen of Montana”.

After graduating from Stanford University Medical School (MD 1955), Bill left San Francisco in a caravan of fellow grads on their way to eastern internships. The rest went back to California, but fate had other plans for Bill. A young Mary Noel Kerth had hurt her back in a diving mishap and was in the Barnes Hospital emergency room. Bill was her surgical intern. They later married and Bill remained in St. Louis for the rest of his life.

Dr. Bowles was a veteran, having served from 1960-62 as a urological surgeon at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA.

Dr. Bowles practiced Urology at Barnes Hospital and Red Bud Community Hospital in Red Bud, IL until retiring in 1996. At Barnes, he was on the staff of Dr. Justin Cordonnier, a noted St. Louis urologist. Dr. Bowles was known for his skill as a surgeon. In 1965, he was selected to perform a medical procedure on his former professor, Dr. Cordonnier, who famously supervised and assisted with his own surgical procedure while under local anesthesia.

Dr. Bowles was on the staff of Washington University Medical School, and published or co-published more than 20 journal articles on advanced urological techniques.

Bill had a lively sense of humor and loved telling jokes. He also enjoyed hosting weekend parties at his clifftop property overlooking the Mississippi River valley. Later in life, he donated that land to the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission whose mission is to protect high quality natural areas and habitats of endangered and threatened species.

Bill traveled extensively all over the world. Extremely talented in many hobbies, Bill was a gourmet cook, a quasi-professional photographer, and an unstoppable dabbler who built a harpsichord from scratch, made delicious wine from apples, brewed his own beer and gardened avidly.

There will be a private gathering of the family and close friends in August to celebrate Bill’s life. We will miss him greatly.