Ronald Dean Fowler

Ronald Dean Fowler, age 72, died Saturday, March 29, 2014.

Ron was born on August 13, 1941 in Bartlesville, OK to Jerome Bonapart (JB) and Ona Fowler. He was a treasured little brother to JB Jr. and Betty Jean. They grew up together in Odessa, TX.

Ron received a B.A. from Howard Payne in 1963. He completed an M.A. and Ph. D. from Texas Tech in European History/Political Theory in 1967 and 1978, respectively. Ron ultimately became a tenured associate professor at ENMU, where he taught from 1970-1995, chaired many departments, and served as assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 1978-1983. While he often joked that his students slept through class, his pre-school aged daughter thought he was a great storyteller. He retired from Eastern as Associate Professor Emeritus of History in 1995 after 27 years of service.

In addition to his teaching career, Ron worked as a professional photographer in Clovis and Portales, NM for over 40 years, capturing special moments at countless weddings, graduations, and family gatherings. He was famous for making toddlers (and even some adults) laugh with his Donald Duck impression.

Ron was married twice. First to Barbara Ann Victory and then to Tamara Lynn Curtis. Neither of those marriages quite worked out (not for lack of trying on his part—he was married 37 years in total), but he was incredibly proud of the products of those two marriages in the form of his daughters: Starla Kay and Twila Dawn from the first marriage and Tyla Megan from the second.

In retirement, he wrote and published a satirical novel, Mart.  A few people read it. He sure did make himself laugh while writing it, and that’s what counts.

Ron is survived by two daughters, Twila Dawn Victory and Tyla Megan Fowler; two grandchildren, Nick and Joey Ludwick; a brother, JB Fowler (Wanda) and sister, Betty Jean Smith (Leslie). He is preceded in death by his daughter, Starla Kay Fowler.

No services are being held at this time. If you wish to do something for the family in memoriam, please send a favorite memory of Ron care of Tamara Curtis (3721 Linkwood Lane, Clovis, NM 88101). The memories will be compiled for the entire family.  

One of Ron’s favorite pastimes was quoting Joseph Campbell. So here goes. “Life is like arriving late for a movie, having to figure out what was going on without bothering everybody with a lot of questions, and then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends.”