The July 4 weekend this year marked the 50th anniversary of Tom Bowdler’s first visit to this area from his New Jersey home. He came to see his girlfriend, Jane Maxon, at her home in Holley. She was a freshman and he was a sophomore at Heidelberg College in Ohio where they met as marching band members. Tom reflects, “If you had told me that day that I would end up living here, I would have said you’re out of your mind, because I would never come to this hick town for all the money in the world.”
The ensuing years brought their wedding in Holley in 1970, two sons and a granddaughter, a gratifying dental career in Brockport, the joy of several hobbies, and service to the community he now loves. After 44 years in dentistry, Tom retired on July 6. And, Jane retired in June from a successful career teaching math at Brockport High School.
Places and people in his career
Initially, the newlyweds lived in New Jersey where Tom attended dental school. In 1971, during his senior year, Tom visited Brockport to “walk around town and talk to dentists about what it’s like to be a dentist here.” But, it was a Wednesday afternoon and all dentists’ offices were closed except Dr. Harold Craw’s at 135 South Main. Dr. Craw invited Tom to dinner at his home that night. “We hit it off,” Tom said, and months later he accepted Dr. Craw’s invitation to join his practice.
He worked with Dr. Craw for two years and was offered a partnership. He respectfully declined and bought a relocating dentist’s practice in 1974, moving to the Lakeside Hospital professional building. Five years later, he bought a Victorian home at 33 West Avenue and converted it to professional space — preserving the historic exterior and maintaining a homey interior. He was there 35 years until joining Dr. Maxwell Thaney’s practice in 2014 at 64 North Main Street.
Asked to reflect on his career, Tom said, “If I have been successful it’s been in developing relationships with people and taking care of people.” And about enduring relationships, he added, “I have had some four-generation families as patients.” Among his patients, Tom was well-known for being available on his home phone for painful emergencies and treating them at his closed office during evenings, weekends and holidays.
High professional standards
In an interview, Tom reflected on “the marvelous changes in the profession, including materials and technology” during his 44 years in practice. Moving in with Dr. Thaney provided the latest state-of-the-art equipment. “Toward the end of my career, with the knowledge, technology, and material changes, I was able to do a lot better job for my patients than when my career was in its infancy.”
“Doing a better job” was also Tom’s reason for pursuing continuing education to keep up with the latest procedures and standards in general dentistry. In 1987 he became a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry and in 1990 a Master. “The Academy affirms you cannot be clinically competent as a practitioner unless you engage in continuing education,” Tom said.
New York State requires continuing education for re-licensure, but The Academy has higher standards. The Fellowship certification requires 1,000 hours of continuing education. The Mastership requires 600 hours beyond that in all disciplines of dentistry, and hands-on classes. “It’s very rigorous,” Tom said, adding that his continuing education hours have been well above the minimum standards.
The hobbyist
With devotion to his practice, Tom still found time for the diverse hobbies he continues to enjoy: flying his 1967 Cessna 150 single engine plane, building a full-scale replica of an historic plane, building model train layouts, crafting wooden toys, playing the tuba, and touring and visiting car shows in his 1923 Ford hot rod roadster. He calls the car “a pre-retirement present,” which he purchased in December. (See photo)
Tom received his pilot’s license in 1989 and flies his Cessna for fun. He and a friend are building a replica of a 1929 Pietenpol Air Camper vintage two-seat plane, which he plans to pilot next year.
Tom is deeply engaged with his G-gauge model train hobby. He has built three different portable track layouts that break down into eight pieces to take to train shows. Tom says, “Whatever I am interested in, the best way to enjoy it is to share it with other people.” He has displayed his trains at events in Canada, and in the Brockport-Rochester community including the December RIT train show. “They (RIT) always give me ‘pride of place’ in the middle, running trains for two days,” Tom said.
Tom’s trains are a niche in the model train world with “boiling water in the locomotive to make it run like the real ones; no electricity is involved,” he said. He is about to craft his own steam engine. Experienced in crafting wooden toys, Tom now wants to learn how to machine metal and build his own locomotive boiler.
Serving the community
Tom has been a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Chapter 44, for 35 years. He has served as chapter President and was involved in the planning and building of the Sports Aviation Center at Ledgedale Airport, which was completed in 2011. The Center was built for community family activities, including programs for youth like “Young Eagles” that provide plane rides and education about aviation. Tom enjoys flying young people in the Young Eagles program.
Tom is an Eagle Scout as are both of his sons. He was a scout leader for many years, first as chairman of the Monroe County Dental Society Exploring Careers program, followed by many leadership roles in Brockport troops 85 and 86. He continues to counsel scouts for merit badges including the Aviation badge through a three day “Aerocamp” at the airport.
Tom played the tuba in the Brockport Symphony Orchestra under James Walker, and served on the symphony board during that time. He also was a member and chair of the local YMCA board and has been active in many roles at First Presbyterian Church in Brockport.
The future and final reflections
Tom and Jane look forward to more travel and adventure. Their goal is to visit all of the U.S. national parks. They have visited 32 so far with 27 to go. There will be more frequent visits to Maryland where his son, Jeff, and his wife recently had a baby girl. And, there will be more visits with son Greg in Florida.
“I was this brash young kid who moved here from New Jersey,” Tom said about Brockport being initially a culture shock. “I have had three opportunities in the last year to go back to my home area, and you couldn’t get me back there for anything. It is wonderful here in Brockport.” And, there is a storybook ending: Half a century after that first romantic visit with Jane, they are living in Jane’s family home in Holley.
