The coach who led the Saucon Valley High School football program from 2002 to 2006 was killed Friday in a crash involving his vehicle and a dump truck at Rts. 248 and 273 in Lehigh Township, Northampton County.
Dick Bowman, 76, was well-known for his successes on the field, compiling a five-season career record of 35-21, but that was just a part of what made him a special person, said Saucon Valley Athletic Director Bob Frey, who called him “an absolute gentleman and outstanding person.”
“The Saucon Valley Athletic Department was saddened to receive news today of the sudden passing of former Head Football Coach Richard ‘Dick’ Bowman in a motor vehicle accident,” Frey said in a statement.
“In 2004, Coach Bowman led the Panthers to an undefeated Colonial League season, a Colonial League Championship and their first District XI Championship in school history,” Frey said. “Off the field, Coach Bowman was an outstanding and caring individual who dedicated his life to thousands of students as a teacher at Pen Argyl and a football coach.”
“In addition to his dedication to his students, athletes and his family, Dick was an avid lover of animals and the President of Forgotten Felines and Fidos, a no-kill animal shelter in the Lehigh Valley,” he added. “The Saucon Valley Athletic Department sends our deepest condolences to Coach Bowman’s family at this most difficult time.”
Bowman’s death was also noted in a post on the Forgotten Felines and Fidos Facebook page, drawing hundreds of comments in remembrance of his work with the organization.
The crash–which closed part of eastbound Route 248 for an extended period of time–remains under investigation by Lehigh Township police, according to published reports.
Channel 69 News reported that Bowman was driving a minivan westbound and turning left onto Rt. 873 when the accident occurred at 5:10 a.m.
Services for Bowman have not yet been announced.
