Rev. O. Richard Bowyer, born in Huntington, WV on February 16, 1935 to Orman L. and Jean Athella Morris Bowyer. He graduated from Huntington High School in 1953, Marshall College (now University) in 1957, Duke University Divinity School with a MDiv and with a ThM in 1968. He was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairmont State University in 2005. He did additional studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and at West Virginia University.

He married Faith Ann Martin Bowyer on August 23, 1955. They have three children: Richard Mark of Fairmont, David Martin (deceased) of San Diego, and John Walter of Pittsburgh. They have six grandchildren: Kyle Bowyer, Holly Alevito (Sam), Whitney Bowyer, Maverick Bowyer (deceased), Danielle Bowyer, and Bella Bowyer, and two great granddaughters, Lorilei Alevito and Millie Alevito. He is survived by one sister, Kay Houston of Brick, NJ and a number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents, his parents, and sister, Helen Jeanne Mack.

Ordained an Elder in the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1960. While in college, before ordination, he served as pastor of the Prichard-Hubbardstown Charge. Rev. Bowyer was appointed to West Liberty and Short Creek in 1960 and served from 1975-1985 as pastor of Trinity Fairmont. After retirement, he served briefly at the Farmington West and Main Street Charge. He started the Methodist Campus Ministry at West Liberty College and served as Campus Minister for the Wesley Foundation at Fairmont State University from 1962 until his retirement in 2005.

He was a leader in the West Virginia Annual Conference having chaired the Ethnic Ministries Committee, the Division of Mission of the Board of Global Ministries, and the Conference Board of Discipleship. In 1967, he was an invited participant in a conference on Man, Steward of Power at het Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches in Bossey, Switzerland. He served on and chaired for several years the Northeastern Jurisdiction Urban Ministry Steering Committee and on the National Urban Ministry Network. IN 1992-93, he served as part-time Executive Secretary of the Office of Urban Ministry of the General Board of Urban Ministry bas in New York City. While a seminary student, he served two summers as Associate Pastor of the Cherokee Mission of the Qualla Boundary Reservation in North Carolina and as Interim Pastor at First Methodist Church in Rockingham, NC.

After retirement, he served two summers on the staff of the East Belfast Mission in Belfast, Northern Ireland and worked for several years with both the Belfast Central Mission and East Belfast in providing connections between Northern Ireland, Appalachia, and Fairmont State University. HE became a Rural Chaplain in the early 2000s and was the Secretary of the Marion County Communities of Shalom for over 20 years.

In other roles, he was an adjunct professor at Fairmont State and taught a variety of courses, largely in the Department of Sociology, and worked closely with the Frank and Jane Gabor WV Folklife Center at Fairmont State. He served one year as part-time coordinator for continuing education in Allied Health Sciences. With his wife, Faith, he was active in the Marion County Historical Society. HE was elected to the Fairmont Charter Board that developed the current Manager-Council form of government for the city and ran once, unsuccessfully, as a candidate for the WV House of Delegates. He participated in a preaching/teaching mission to Liberia, West Africa, and also served as the Chaplain for a short-term medical mission to the Philippines. He was guest Protestant Minister on several Holland America cruises. He and his wife, Faith, were official delegates to the World Methodist Council in Brighton, England in 2000.

Bowyer served for more than 50 years on the Board of the Monongahela Valley Association of Health Centers (Fairmont Clinic), many as Chairman of the Board. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Valley Health Care System, a multi-county comprehensive community mental health agency for over 45 years. Rev. Bowyer served 9 years on the Board of the former Fairmont General Hospital and from 2002-2008 as a member of the WV Lawyer Disciplinary Board.

Rev. Bowyer was the Coordinator of the WV Committee for Health Security Act and arranged a Senate hearing on National Health Insurance with Senator Ted Kennedy held in Pursglove, WV. He provided written and oral testimony before several committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was a public member of a US Public Health Service task force that developed guidelines and recommendations on the treatment of back pain. He was a member of and, for a time, Chairman of the Board of the former OIC, Inc. in Fairmont as a member and later Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the former Morristown (TN) Junior College and a member of the Trustees of the former Knoxville College. Appointed by seven governors, he served off and on for more than 30 years on the WV Board of Medicine. He served two terms as President of the Board and was the only non-physician ever to serve as President of the Board of Medicine. In 2014, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Federation of State Medical Boards. He was a public member of the Coalition on Physician Accountability for two three-year terms. Most notably, he served 8 days and nights as Chaplain Coordinator on site at the Farmington, WV #9 Coal Mine Disaster in November 1968.

He was the recipient of numerous awards in Campus Ministry, Civil and Human Rights, and healthcare leadership.

Bowyer was the editor and co-author of Prayer in the Black Tradition and contributed to several other publications, including articles in Christian Century, Traditions, the Journal of the Folklife Center, Upper Room Disciples, and Goldenseal Magazine.

Rev. Bowyer was a guest preacher in numerous churches of various denominations in West Virginia and also preached at Duke University Chapel, in the Philippines, Liberia, Northern Ireland, ad on several cruise ships.

The family will receive friends at Domico Funeral Home, 414 Gaston Avenue in Fairmont, on Friday, October 30, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The funeral service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, 301 Jackson Street in Fairmont, on Friday, October 30, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. with Rev. Brad Bennett officiating. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.domicofh.com.