O.C. Victim of EgyptAir Crash Is Bid Farewell

A grieving Max Bowman stood alone at the altar Thursday morning and whispered goodbye to the love of his life, Judith Bowman, the woman he had exchanged wedding vows with four decades ago inside that very same Huntington Beach church.

More than 600 family members, friends and well-wishers listened in silence, many dabbing away tears, as he described the agony of learning that his wife had perished in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, which Sunday plunged into the Atlantic 12 hours after he last saw her. Nine other Orange County residents also lost their lives.

“There’s no way on God’s Earth I can tell you how I felt that morning at 5 o’clock,” he said. “Cherish every moment you have with your loved ones. Don’t let any of it slip away. . . . Twelve hours. Twelve hours.”

The pews of the First Christian Church were filled with Judith Bowman’s schoolmates from Huntington Beach High’s class of 1959, along with friends from as far away as London who met the Bowmans during their global travels teaching beach lifeguards.

Her daughter, Lori Fernandez, and sons Steve and Gary each took turns describing the loving mother who raised them, the woman who smothered her grandchildren with affection, and who was always strong in times of tragedy and sickness.

“Dear Mom, I just wanted to tell you I love you and I’ll miss you,” a tearful Steve read from a small crumpled note he had penned the night before. “Being happy was all you ever wanted for me. I promise I’ll work very hard to fulfill your wish.”

The day before his mother died, she sat with Steve’s 1 1/2-year-old son on her lap when the tyke uttered his biggest word: “pumpkin.”

That night, she boarded the ill-fated airliner with three of her closest friends for an adventurous three-week tour of Egypt and Israel. The well-traveled foursome--which included Tobey Seidman of Irvine, Sheila Jaffee of Huntington Beach and Beverly Grant of Santa Ana--had been planning the trip for a year, complete with a winding cruise down the Nile and tour of the Great Pyramids.

All four women remain lost at sea amid the wreckage of EgyptAir Flight 990 off Massachusetts’ Nantucket Island. On Thursday, the bad weather that has hampered the crash investigation finally cleared, which will allow Navy divers to begin searching for the Boeing 767’s “black boxes”--the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Also lost on Flight 990 were Virginia and Effat Mansour of Irvine, and Dana Point residents Barbara and Art Peever and Dotti and Rick Foth. Memorial services were held Wednesday for Jaffee; services are planned Sunday for Grant and Nov. 13 for the Foths. Arrangements are pending for Seidman, the Mansours and the Peevers.

While many families of the 217 people who died in the crash have traveled to the East Coast to be near the site, the Bowmans decided to stay at home, surrounded by the comfort of friends. Fernandez said they’ve been following reports of the investigation and will continue paying close attention as federal investigators try to determine what caused the airliner to plummet into the sea.

Minister Bruce Templeton on Thursday cautioned Judith Bowman’s family and friends about trying to make sense out of such a senseless tragedy, no matter what information is revealed. Instead, they should rejoice in the love that propelled her though life and that touched all of those near her.

Templeton reminded them that Judith and her friends were embarking on an exciting journey, a journey that would take her to Jerusalem, the land of Jesus Christ.

“She didn’t get to walk where Jesus walked, but something better happened,” Templeton said. “She is walking with the Prince of Peace. She is walking with Jesus.”

Born in Long Beach, Judith Bowman, 57, spent most of her life in Huntington Beach, and with her husband has lived in the same house for more than 30 years. It was 42 years ago, at a weekend beach party, where Max and Judy first met. Judy was a high school sophomore, just a year or so away from being the runner-up in the Miss Huntington Beach beauty pageant.

The Bowmans celebrated their 40th anniversary in June.

“It really was love at first sight,” said Susie Johnson, 58, who has been a close friend of Judy since grammar school.

After they were married, Max worked as a lifeguard at Huntington Beach, and eventually became a director of community services for the city. He was heavily involved in the World Surf Lifesaving Assn., and his work allowed the Bowmans to travel the world to teach lifesaving techniques.

During their travels, the Bowmans befriended Dr. Mark “Buster” Harries of London, a friend for the last 25 years who flew in this week after learning of Sunday’s tragedy. Harries said he was always struck by Judy’s devotion to her husband and children, a devotion that was her life, her career and her true love.

“I got to know [Judy] so well, she became a sister to me,” Harries said. “Judy has never, ever, in my memory, said a bad word about anyone.”

After the hourlong memorial service, Max Bowman came before reporters waiting outside to deliver a simple message to the community.

“Take your husband, your wife, your children, your family members, and love them,” he said. “There’s no tomorrow. My life changed around in less than 12 hours.”