L. Stanley Bowlsbey Jr., former longtime dean of graduate studies and professor of education at what is now McDaniel College, died Wednesday of complications from a stroke at the Fairhaven Retirement Community in Sykesville. The longtime Finksburg resident was 77.
Dr. Bowlsbey was born in Baltimore and raised in Parkville. He was a 1948 graduate of City College and earned bachelor's degrees in English and French from what was then Western Maryland College in 1952.
He earned a master's degree in education from Western Maryland in 1959, and a doctorate in English and higher education from the University of Iowa in 1969.
After serving in the Army for two years, he began his teaching career in 1954 at what was then Baltimore Junior College, where he taught English and journalism, and served as dean of the faculty.
He joined the Western Maryland faculty in 1969 as professor of education, and two years later was named director and later dean of the graduate program in education administration. He also chaired the department of education for a number of years.
Dr. Bowlsbey's lifelong interest in journalism began during his undergraduate days at Western Maryland, where he edited the Gold Bug, the college newspaper.
"Stan was not only diligent but he really cared about detail. He made a point to his staff when he was editor of the Gold Bug that he wanted an error-free issue, and he got it," said Dr. James F. Lightner, longtime friend and colleague who taught math at the college for many years. "He was precise and always striving for perfection."
In the classroom, Dr. Bowlsbey happily passed on his enthusiasm for the English language and its proper usage and grammar to his students.
"He was a wonderful editor, and any time reports were prepared by the college, he was the editor. I remember students who became teachers saying how he prepared them to teach English," Dr. Lightner said. "They said he'd drill them in grammar and usage and that they wound up doing the same in their classrooms."
Joyce Muller, associate vice president of communications and marketing at McDaniel College, recalled Dr. Bowlsbey's nearly two-decade career at the college.
"While his hairline receded during his tenure on the Hill, he never lost his serious intense look, his keen intellect, and love of precise writing," Ms. Muller said. "As a faculty member, he often volunteered his advice to student editors of the Gold Bug and encouraged bright undergraduates to employ their talents toward the teaching profession."
"He was a great guy who could spot and nurture talent. I don't want to say he was a father figure but he was quite avuncular and a great mentor," said Joan Develin Coley, now president of the college, who had been hired by Dr. Bowlsbey in 1973.
"He was very influential in the state and in southern Pennsylvania because of the many principals and supervisors who graduated from his graduate program in school administration," Dr. Coley said.
Dr. Brian Lockard, retired superintendent of Carroll County public schools, described him as an "outstanding educator who was a wonderful person to work with. He was also a very caring person that was gifted with a great sense of humor."
Dr. Bowlsbey also co-chaired the college's first long-range planning committee in 1980 to 1981, and in 1988 was named to the newly created post of dean of planning and research.
In 1989, he retired from the college and joined the State Board of Education, where he served as a consultant and co-director for assessment of state public school administrators, until fully retiring in 1993.
After his 1975 marriage to the former JoAnn Harris, a textbook author, the couple lived on 40 acres, much of it wooded, in Finksburg.
Dr. Bowlsbey, an outdoorsman, enjoyed caring for and walking in his woods, often accompanied by the collies and shelties he lovingly trained.
"He loved the ocean, and we also liked spending weekends at a second home in Ocean City, N.J.," said Mrs. Harris-Bowlsbey.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Little Baker Chapel on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster.
He is survived by his wife.
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com