Retired judge Ronald Bowman, who spent 16 years on the Lucas County Common Pleas Court, died Friday at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in South Toledo. He was 86.
He spent a total of 18 years on the bench — including two years in Toledo Municipal Court — and handled criminal cases and civil matters affecting thousands, including the murder trials of 12 defendants who were sentenced to death. He was elected to Common Pleas Court in 1996 and retired at the end of 2004.
An attorney since 1959, Judge Bowman had been president of five attorney-affiliated organizations, including the Toledo Bar Association, which awarded him its prestigious Order of the Heel for unselfishly giving of his time, talent, and energies to assist young lawyers.
A native of Crawford County, Judge Bowman's parents moved to Toledo when he was a young boy. He graduated from Libbey High School in 1948 and enrolled at the University of Toledo to study business.
He interrupted his studies in the summer of 1952 to help wage the war against Communism in North Korea. He volunteered for combat duty in the Army, entering as a warrant officer and retiring 42 years later as major general in the Ohio Army National Guard.
Arrangements are pending at Coyle Funeral Home in South Toledo.
First Published April 22, 2017, 6:33 p.m.