About

Barbara Bowie was born in Philadelphia in 1934. A month later, her family relocated to Orange County, California, where she has called home since. From bike riding along sleepy Tustin Avenue to Newport Beach as a teenager to being one of Orange County’s preeminent volunteers as an adult, Barbara has seen the evolution of the region from sprawl- ing agricultural community to booming urban center.

While an undergrad at the University of Colorado Boulder, Barbara met Alex Bowie, who was earning his law degree. Upon their graduations, the two married on July 10, 1956. After a brief stint in Virginia where Alex was ordered to report to Fort Belvoir to begin his compulsory military service, they moved to California where they eventually raised their two children, Becky and Brian.

In 1968, at thirty-four years old, Barbara was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. By then her father, Dr. Thomas Rhone, was Orange County’s most prominent vascular surgeon. Devastated, he broke the news to his beloved daughter and connected her with top MS specialists throughout LA and Orange County.

Together, Dr. Rhone, Alex, and Barbara went about finding the best MS treatments. Her main physician was Dr. Stanley van den Noort, the world-renowned MS expert. Eventually, Barbara discovered the winning formula—bodybuilding.

Since 1999, Barbara has not had MS symptoms. Throughout her battles with the disease, Barbara has been a prolific volunteer. Her proudest philanthropic accomplishment was founding Angels of the Arts at the behest of Henry Segerstrom and modeled after Dorothy Buffum Chandler’s Blue Ribbon volunteer organization of the Music Center in LA. In addition, Barbara has dedicated countless hours to serving Visionaries of the Orange County Museum of Art, Angelitos de Oro, Decorative Arts Society, and Women of Chapman.

Currently, Barbara and Alex live in Newport Beach, California, where they play golf and bridge several times a week.