Pamela A. Bowden Pamela A. Bowden, daughter of the late Alfred F. and Emily C. Bowden, died on August 30th, following a long and courageous battle with a rare form of cancer known as GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor). She was 54 years old and had lived in Garden City since 1952.

Pamela attended the Cathedral School of St. Mary in Garden City from the fifth grade on, graduating from that school in 1967. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Molloy College in Rockville Centre, and, for the past 33 years, was a dedicated employee at Citibank, most recently serving as a Senior Systems Analyst. Pamela had been involved with Citibank’s home banking system since its inception during the mid-1980’s.

An accomplished figure skater, Pamela devoted a great deal of time to skating lessons and practice sessions, passing several levels of tests as a young woman. Later in life she turned her boundless energy to tap dancing, working with an outstanding instructor to develop a unique and graceful combination of tap and ballroom dancing.

Along the way, Pamela also found time for tennis, swimming, diving, cross-country skiing and kayaking, participating in these sports with much vigor and joy.

Pamela had a great affection for Lake Placid, New York, where she spent both winter and summer vacations. It was in the Adirondacks that she acquired several pairs of antique ice skates to add to her increasingly significant collection of such artifacts. It was also in this part of the world that Pamela befriended “Smitty,” a young black bear who had been converted into a “piano bear” for the Hotel Saranac restaurant, following an unfortunate confrontation with an automobile. A few years ago she brought Smitty home to Garden City, where he became an important part of the Bowden household, seated happily at the player piano in the living room. Subsequently Smitty became known to many as the subject of several delightful narratives written by Pamela.

Pamela is survived by her three adoring older sisters, Barbara, Juliana Schmitt, and Emily, as well as by her nephews, James and Thomas Schmitt, and her niece, Amy Herman.

A memorial visitation was held at Fairchild Sons in Garden City on Thursday, September 2nd, and a Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated by Father Fernando Egardo at St. Joseph’s Church on Friday, September 3rd.

Since being diagnosed with GIST in 1999, Pamela participated in several important clinical trials (including the Phase Two Gleevec trial at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston), and made a tremendous contribution to research in this field. A memorial has been established in her name, and contributions may be sent to memorial Sloan-Kettering/ GIST Research in care of Robert G. Maki, M.D., Ph.D., 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021.