Ryan Bowe Leaves His Mark at DA's Office (from the East Oregonian)

Ryan Bowe leaves his mark at DA's office
Colleagues remember, mourn young attorney

By Samantha Bates of the East Oregonian
July 25, 2007

PENDLETON - The death of Ryan Bowe left a visible mark on the Umatilla County District Attorney's office Tuesday. Employees were subdued and there was a quiet laying over the usually busy office.

Bowe, who has worked at the office on and off for about three years as a deputy district attorney, died of natural causes around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. He was 30 years old, married and expecting his first child.

"The biggest blow to me is - I considered Ryan my friend and that's the hardest thing," District Attorney Dean Gushwa said. "To lose him as an employee is secondary."

"He was incredibly fair, very compassionate," said fellow deputy district attorney Simonne Weyand as she fought back tears.

"This was his home. He fell in love with a hometown girl. He came here thinking he'd be here two years, but he made a life for himself." Weyand said Bowe and his wife, Ryndi, were expecting a son in August.

Weyand knew Bowe since they both attended the University of Oregon Law School and graduated in 2002. Though they didn't intend to, they both ended up working in the same office in Umatilla County.

Bowe began there in September 2003, Gushwa said.

Starting on the same day was Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wendel.

"We kind of had this sibling rivalry thing going," Wendel said in a slightly cheerful voice. But at the same time, Wendel said he and Bowe were always ready to drop everything to help the other when needed.

"I trust him to the ends of the earth," Wendel said.

Gushwa said Bowe always was ready for whatever came his way on the job.

"I was extremely pleased and happy he could take a case of any kind without any trepidation or undue concern," Gushwa said. "And he would handle it well. His technical skills were professional at any case we gave him."

In the office, Amber Gilbert, who worked as his secretary since January, said he was very professional.

"Every morning he'd come and say, 'Hi, how are you?' " Gilbert said. It was his daily courtesies like that she would remember.

Gushwa said Bowe also was more than competent in the courtroom.

"At trial he was able to take complicated issues and explain them in terms every juror would understand," he said.

"We had really different styles," Wendel said. "He's very sincere and reasonable. Through that he was able to talk not just to jurors, but the defense."

"He was an incredibly sincere person and that came across in the courtroom," Weyand said. "He loved the work - he did."

She added he was level-headed and capable of balancing his work with his personal and family life.

"We were a close crew," she said. Many of the deputy district attorneys are around the same age and Weyand said they often spent time together outside of work.

"We all hung out, like a family," she added.

In addition, Wendel and Weyand said Bowe had a good sense of humor, although quiet.

"It's sort of a subtle, understated sense of humor," Wendel said. "It was so quick and sharp, half the time you'd be laughing before you realized what you were laughing about."

Gushwa said he believed Bowe intended to be a career prosecutor. Weyand guessed he could have been the next district attorney after Gushwa. Gushwa remembered a recent conversation he'd had with Weyand when they agreed he could have gone as far as to become a senator.

"With his demeanor and his amiability he could have gone anywhere," Gushwa said.

Bowe left the District Attorney's office in April 2006 to work civil law at Corey, Byler, Rew Lorenzen & Hojem LLP.

"On behalf of our law firm I was saddened to learn of his death," said Steven Corey in an official statement. "Ryan was a bright, young attorney, who loved to do prosecutorial work. He briefly worked at our law firm and made many friends through his work here. ... He was dedicated and hard working. Our law office was stunned to learn that he had passed away and at such a young age. We offer our sympathies to his family, including his wife, Ryndi."

After Gushwa became district attorney in January, he invited Bowe back and Bowe returned in February. Since that time he was deeply involved with many complicated cases, including the Rill trial dealing with alleged sheep neglect and the recent Summerfield murder case.

Tuesday afternoon, Gushwa set up an account for Bowe's wife and family, called the Bowe Family Fund, at Bank of America. He said the account is to help with funeral costs and to help Bowe's wife with the new baby when he arrives.