Sir Barry Bowen, a Personal Tribute

Lady (Dixie) Bowen & Sir Barry Bowen on "expedition" in Gallon Jug

Sir Barry invited Bruce and I to move to Gallon Jug from our tiny run down, rented house in Cayo in 1990. It seemed like an offer too good to be true for a pair of idealistic and poverty-stricken conservation biologists. We deliberated for awhile until circumstances beyond our control forced us to accept. Yes it's true -- we weren't too sure a move to Gallon Jug would be good for us.

It turned out to be a major turning point in our lives and careers. Anything we may have accomplished in Belize we owe entirely to Sir Barry and the secure home base he provided in Gallon Jug. He built a house for us in 1993 where we have lived ever since. This home and office was freely given ... and he never would accept even a Belize shilling from us in exchange.

Sir Barry shared with us a true commitment to conservation in Belize and a deep love for the Gallon Jug Estate. He loved birds and wildlife. That is not to imply we agreed all the time or even part of the time -- in fact we had many "spirited" discussions on the subject. We will miss those discussions and his excitement at sharing every new bird he'd seen with us. Sir Barry made all things possible for us and so many others. We miss him deeply.