Janet Bowers Bothwell, born to Clement and Janet Whitney Bowers on January 9, 1935 in New Jersey, passed away on May 29, 2004 at Lourdes Hospital, Binghamton, N.Y. Preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence L. Bothwell. Janet attended Miss Hall's School, Pittsfield, Mass. She received her A.B. from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1956, and a M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y., in 1959. She married Lawrence L. Bothwell on February 3, 1957. Janet had special interests and hobbies in needlework, crafts and gastronomy, but her greatest pride was to serve as an advocate for historic preservation. She established The Bowers Foundation in 1967, and as President, she has focused the Foundation's efforts on historic preservation in and around the Town of Maine, N.Y. Through her efforts, the J. Ralph Ingalls School and the 1851 Cyrus Gates House in the Town of Maine have been named to the National Register of Historic Places. (Quoting from an article in the Press & Sun Bulletin, June 25, 2000: "Bothwell's father, an avid historian and preservationist, taught her to appreciate the past. 'I grew up with the preservationist philosophy and took it for granted,' said Bothwell.") She served as Curator of the Nanticoke Valley Historical Society from the mid-1970's until 2002. With her encouragement and support, the museum grew to include the Pitchers Mill, a one-room schoolhouse and a carriage maker's shop. One of her proudest moments occurred in 2000 when then Preservation League of New York State honored her for her many contributions to historic preservation in the State. Under her direction, the Bowers Foundation contributed to Binghamton's Roberson Museum and Science Center, including the installation of a permanent display of 1880's parlor furniture from the former house of her grandfather, Lamont Montgomery Bowers, which was located at 203 Main Street, Binghamton, N.Y. In honor of Janet's father, Clement G. Bowers, a noted horticulturist and an authority on rhododendrons, the foundation assisted in the establishment of the Clement Gray Bowers Rhododendron Collection on Comstock Knoll at Cornell Plantations, Ithaca, N.Y. In collaboration with her husband, Janet co-edited Broome County Heritage: An Illustrated History (Windsor Publications, 1983). She edited a Nanticoke Valley heritage cookbook, Cooking Up the Creek (Bowers Corners Press, 1994). She is survived by a group of loyal and loving friends, including Nancy McGregor Bittinger, Marceil Hamill, Charles and Janet Hathorn, Robert and Ellen Hoover, Alice Hopkins, Cam Johnson, Barbara MacFalls, Lee Mauk, and Janette Pfeiff.

Services will be held at the convenience of the family. Memorials to the Nanticoke Valley Historical Society, Maine, N.Y. Arrangements by Allen Memorial Home, 511-513 East Main Street, Endicott, N.Y.

Published in Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin on June 2, 2004