Kingston Edward Bowen, 59, of Baltimore, MD, passed away on August 2nd, 2023 2 years and 9 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Kingston was predeceased by his mother Melinda Bowen (née Biberstein), father Kingston Bowen, and sister Deborah Bowen. He has left behind his wife Nadine Bowen (née Wegener), sister and brother-in-law Kandiss Hernandez (née Bowen) and Gary Hernandez, sister-in-law Linda McBlane, daughter Kristin Bowen, daughter and son-in-law Constance Strittmatter (née Bowen) and Michael Strittmatter, son Connor Bowen, and grandchildren Addison Bowen, Isaac Strittmatter, and Charlie Strittmatter.

Born in Fort Rucker, Alabama, October 19, 1963, Kingston (known to family as Keb) soon moved to Indianapolis, IN while his father served in Vietnam. There, Kingston spent his earliest years with his mother's extended family, growing deep ties to the Indianapolis area. At the age of five, Kingston's family moved to Ingleside, IL where he spent the remainder of his childhood. As a child, Kingston loved spending time with his sisters and friends ice skating and fishing at the lake behind his home. He found great joy in his pet Weimaraners - Charm, Christmas, and Spring - and spoke of them often throughout his life. Kingston attended Grant Community High School in Fox Lake, IL (a place his children could never forget as he belted the GCHS fight song often throughout the house). Throughout his whole life, he had great pride in his home city of Chicago, IL, from Chicago sport teams (especially his beloved Cubs) to his hatred of ketchup and love of Chicago based comedians.

At 21, Kingston married the love of his life, Nadine Bowen (née Wegener) on March 3, 1985. Kingston joined the Air Force and, for the next five years, he and Nadine welcomed three children (Kristin, 1985, Constance, 1987, and Connor, 1990). During his six years in the Air Force, he trained to be a Russian Linguist while stationed in San Antonio, TX, then spent time stationed in Fairbanks, AK and Omaha, NE before being honorably discharged. While in the Air Force, Kingston completed his bachelor's degree in political science from University of Nebraska, Omaha. After his time in the Air Force, Kingston and his family moved to Seattle, WA.

After moving to Seattle, Kingston found a career in insurance sales at Universal Underwriters (Zurich N.A.), where he worked for the next 30+ years until his retirement. Early in his career, Kingston worked full time while completing his master's degree in public affairs from the University of Washington. Kingston found great success in this career, developing deep relationships with coworkers and clients throughout the country. He made President's Club seven times, an honor based on sales throughout the year, which resulted in celebratory trips he was able to take with his wife, Nadine. In 2004, Kingston received a promotion which led him to the Baltimore, MD area. His family settled in Fallston, MD, where they stayed for 16 years until he and Nadine moved to Federal Hill in Baltimore, fulfilling a long held dream of living in a city.

Throughout his life, Kingston found joy in many passions, hobbies, and causes. Starting at a young age, baseball was a passion for Kingston. From fan, to player, to coach, Kingston's love for the game impacted every area of his life. As he moved throughout the country, Kingston became a devoted fan of the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles, but no team fandom ever surpassed his devotion to the Chicago Cubs. Kingston played baseball at his high school, Grant Community High School. At University of San Diego, Kingston joined the baseball team and promptly dislocated his shoulder in practice, ending his college baseball career. Throughout his adulthood, Kingston continued to play on community teams in the Air Force, through his family's church, and local adult leagues. As a parent, Kingston coached his children, along with countless young players throughout the Seattle area. As a grandfather, Kingston coached and mentored his grandson, Isaac. His coaching not only led teams to win several tournaments, but also mentored his players in teamwork and life in general. On the evening of November 2nd, 2016, after waiting 53 years, Kingston finally saw the Cubs win the World Series. After they won, Kingston spent the next several hours on the phone with his daughters, son, and son-in-law talking about the win. This is a memory he and his children cherished and spoke fondly of often.

Kingston also loved the performing arts from a young age. Throughout his time in school, Kingston excelled at trumpet, playing as first chair in the high school band and marching band. Along with his sisters, Kingston participated in theater at school, performing in plays and musicals such as Little Women as Laurie, Oklahoma as Curly, and Arsenic and Old Lace as one of the dead bodies (though he was the understudy for Teddy!). Along with Nadine, Kingston encouraged his children to become involved in both music and theater throughout their lives. Following Kingston's recovery from Whipple surgery, he once again became involved in theater, initially through his sister Kandi at Center Stage Theater in Naperville, IL. It was through Center Stage Theater and the support of local actors in Naperville that he was able to perform with his family in productions of The Odd Couple and Fiddler On The Roof. Back home in Baltimore, Kingston joined local productions of The Thanksgiving Play at Fells Point Theater in November, 2022 and Do Not Go Gentle at Spotlighters Theater in March, 2023. Kingston passed down his love of theater to his children and grandchildren. He got to see his daughter, Kristin, perform is several high school productions. He loved traveling to New York to see a sketch or one act his son, Connor, had written or performed in. A great joy for him as a grandfather was seeing Addi, Isaac, and Charlie perform on stage or on the small screen every time the three of them made a movie together.

Kingston always enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. He kept and shared with his children the first cookbook he ever owned, the Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book for the Hostess & Host of Tomorrow. Kingston and his family jumped on the Food Network train in the 90's, religiously watching Ready, Set, Cook, Iron Chef, and all of Bobby Flay's shows. Bobby Flay became a culinary idol for Kingston to the point that his wardrobe often reflected Flay's (his family lovingly began to call his shirt style of choice "Bobby Flay shirts"). While his food creations didn't always land (vanilla yogurt in scrambled eggs or a savory egg sandwich with pickles, mustard, jam, and chocolate english muffins), everything Kingston made was with love, creativity, and enthusiasm. He spent time learning how to smoke and grill meats, fry up some french toast, and make eggs in every way possible.

Kingston was not only known for his culinary travails, but also for indiscriminately yelling catchphrases and singing songs at home and in public places. His children remember regularly waking up to a booming "Oh, what a beautiful mooooooorniiiiing." If in his home, without warning, you might catch a loud nonsensical exclamation from the other room, "FEE-TOE-BOBBY-TOE." He regularly belted "Figaro, figaro, fiiiiiiigaroooooo" while traveling from room to room. When a big game was starting later in the day, you may hear him singing "Bear doooown, Chicago Bears, beat the crap out of the Greenbay Packeeeeers," humming the Notre Dame fight song, or celebrating after a victory with "Go, Cubs, Go! Hey Chicago, wha'd'you say, the Cubs are gonna win today!" Through his love of The Flintstones, Kingston gained what may have been his favorite catchphrase, many of whom have heard him call out - "Yabadabadoo!" Perhaps the most enduring phrase, if you could call it a phrase, was when he'd burp while saying the word "bobby," resulting in his first grandchild, Addi, affectionately calling him "Bobby" for the first two years of her life.

In his free time, Kingston made every effort to spend time outdoors. He loved using skills learned in basic training through the Airforce to take his family camping in the mountains of Washington state. He spent much of his 40s and 50s staying fit through running, which led to participating in many races throughout the country. He ran 5Ks and half marathons with Nadine in Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia, half marathons with his daughter, Kristin, in Savannah, a full marathon with Kristin in Seattle, and 5Ks with his two of his grandchildren, Isaac and Charlie. Kingston loved riding bikes, hiking, snorkeling, fishing, and kayaking with Nadine and his family - he even hiked down and back up the grand canyon with Nadine and their friends, Bonnie and Joe. With Nadine, Kingston spent time developing beautiful outdoor spaces in their homes. He built decks, put in raised garden beds, and crafted picturesque backyards with the help of his family. After moving, he'd sometimes drive past his old house to look disappointedly at how little the new owners maintained what he and Nadine had created.

Throughout his adult life, Kingston devoted much of his free time to finding ways to better the community around him and beyond. With his wife, Nadine, Kingston traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild homes for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. They later went to Haiti, providing medical services to those in need. Locally in Baltimore and the Mid Atlantic area, Kingston participated in and led efforts to provide food to those in need via food packing events. He joined his neighborhood's clean-up crew, served at homeless shelters, and tutored youth working on getting their GED.

Kingston loved traveling, having visited 49 of 50 states (only North Dakota eluding him). He and Nadine together visited England, Italy, France, Iceland, Aruba, Haiti, Canada, the Bahamas, and Mexico, all of which they loved. In the last few weeks of his life, Kingston even traveled with Nadine to London to see the Cubs beat their rivals, the Cardinals, in the Cubs' first ever Major League Baseball game played in Europe. Though their favorite out of country travels came with their visit to Portugal. He and Nadine created a tradition of celebrating Christmas with food from a different culture every year to experience some of the joys of traveling with his family. It's a tradition that began so long ago, his children don't even know what an American Christmas menu looks like. Marrying his love of travel and baseball, Kingston organized trips to ballparks nearby including Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Boston with his daughter Kristin, son Connor, son-in-law Mike, and friends Joe and Jeff.

In his retirement, along with acting in local shows, Kingston also found a new hobby - writing. He had always been an avid reader, but decided to put pen to paper and create stories of his own. Kingston found inspiration for his stories from his friends and family and loved sharing what he had written with them. In his writing, Kingston had a knack for quippy dialogue. His voice on the page was playful and full of wisdom, just like his voice off the page.

But Kingston's greatest love in his life was his family. He told stories regularly of his mother, who passed away in 1988. He loved spending time with her, folding clothes while watching the Cubs, lounging on the couch watching old movies and drinking root beer floats, riding around in their family's convertible, or enjoying any number of the dinners she'd make for him. While Kingston, Deborah, and Kandiss did not always live close to each other in adulthood, all three continued to stay connected. The three of them found opportunities to bring their families together for camping trips and vacations throughout the country despite the distance, maintaining a strong family bond for themselves, their spouses, and children. Kingston often spoke of the incredible support he gained from his sisters, whether they were offering him a home or mentoring him through a change. If asked, both Deb and Kandi would say that Kingston was just as ready to offer up an ear, his home, or a piece of advice in their direction. Kingston treasured time with his sisters throughout his life.

Kingston loved finding ways to connect with his niece, Megan, and nephews, Ryan, Josh, and Harrison, through theater, sports, running, and comedy. His love of family extended beyond the Bowens into Nadine's extensive family. He cherished times with the extended Wegener family, whether it was opening his home to their niece, Tricia, going out on Nancy and Marc Doubleday's boat, or working with his brother-in-law, Chris, on rebuilding the deck.

Kingston was a terrific father, supporting his children in all their endeavors in school, parenting, career building, and beyond. He loved sharing with them favorite books, movies, music, and riveting political conversations. He coached them in sports, mentored them through difficult situations, taught them how to jump a car, and loved them with all his heart. Kingston's grandchildren, Addison, Isaac, and Charlie became his greatest joys later in his life as he found ways to participate and mentor them in their lives. He especially loved finding opportunities to share his own interests and favorite movies with his grandchildren. As a husband, Kingston loved finding ways to celebrate Nadine and support her own interests in baking, painting, gardening, and community work. Kingston loved Nadine more than anything. He enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his family.

Kingston's life, while too short, was full of joy and love. His family, friends, colleagues, and everyone whose lives he encountered will carry on the love and lessons he imparted.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of the following charities in Kingston's name. If a monetary donation is not possible for you at this time, consider giving your time to these causes. Kingston would be proud to know that he inspired work in the community.  These are charities that reflect just a few causes close to Kingston's heart:

Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) - https://www.mlb.com/rbi/ways-to-donate

World Central Kitchen - https://donate.wck.org/give/499865/#!/donation/checkout

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake - https://www.habitatchesapeake.org/donate/

Visitation will take place on Saturday, September 9th from 1-3 and 5-7 at Peaceful Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Center, P.A., 2325 York Rd, Timonium, MD, 21093.

Memorial and Celebration of life will take place on Saturday, October 7th, light brunch and drinks served at 11am with service to begin at 12pm at Kidz Kabaret Center Stage Theater, 1665 Quincy Ave, Naperville, IL, 60540.