When former Thomas College Trustee Dick Stowell passed away in October, the sad occasion was a reminder to the College community about his enormous impact on seeing Thomas through tough times.

Stowell, who was born in 1946 and grew up in Dixfield, Maine, attended Dartmouth College and the Wharton School. He built a successful business career in Maine, helping his brothers run and eventually sell the family timber business, then working in a variety of financial leadership roles     for companies before retiring.

He served on the Thomas Board of Trustees from 1979 to 1990. During his tenure, notes Co-Chair Conrad Ayotte ‘77, H’98, Stowell played an outsized role in keeping the College open. “Dick chaired the Thomas Board during the very beginning of the school’s recovery from imminent financial collapse,” he recalls. “He adeptly steered the College through a change in leadership that led to the hiring of Dr. George Spann. That selection proved to be pivotal in the school’s survival and ultimately to its future successes. Dick invested both his time and his personal wealth to enable the school to survive and become what it is today. All Thomas grads owe a debt of gratitude to this unsung hero of the Thomas College success story.”

Dick Stowell is survived by his wife Nancy, daughter Nora, son Porter, as well as extended family and grandchildren.