Diabetes gallops through his family: John Bowles, Past President and long-time fundraiser
Vancouver, BC—In 1972, upon the urging of his wife, Judy, John attended his first Canadian Diabetes Association meeting at an office located in space borrowed from the Canadian Legion on Kingsway. By the end of that meeting, John was treasurer for the Vancouver Branch! That day marked the beginning of John’s interesting journey with the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Like most volunteers, John has personal ties to diabetes. “Diabetes does not run in my family, it gallops,” says John, a chartered accountant and national Association president from 1982 to 1984. “My sister and son are both type 1, as am I. My mother was diabetic and an uncle died of it in 1921,” he adds.
Educated in various parts of Canada, John has lived in Vancouver since 1970. He recalls his many challenges and rewards with the Association. “When I first got involved, we were growing rapidly and getting much better organized. Meters were just coming into being in those days, which had a big impact on patients being able to better control their diabetes. I guess the A1C tests also came at about the same time.” As he remembers, “at one stage, we seriously discussed a merger with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and came very close. As a result of this initiative, we did launch a joint fundraising campaign together called “Diabetes Canada” that raised $5 million, which was a fair bit back then.”
When Dr. Garth Warnock, a world leader in diabetes research, first arrived in Vancouver about ten years ago, John and a small group raised the money necessary to equip a new lab for him. Dr. Warnock became the first surgeon in Canada to successfully transplant healthy insulin-producing cells into a patient with diabetes. Together with his research team, the Canadian government awarded Dr. Warnock a prestigious Meritorious Service Medal in 2005.
More recently John, along with a former partner, Hugh Bolton, who has been very involved with the Ontario division of the Association, were key players in securing a sizable donation from Canadian National Railways. In collaboration with the University of British Columbia and the Pacific office of the Association, that contribution helped establish the Diabetes Research Program. Housed at the Child and Family Research Institute (CFRI), this world-class facility is designed to foster a multi-disciplinary, collaborative environment with more than 185 health researchers and their group members.
After John left the Association, he spent eight years on the national board of Ducks Unlimited Canada - an organization committed to wetlands conservation - and remains a director emeritus. Recently he has been involved with a fishing derby, “Fishing for Kids”, which has raised nearly $2 million with all proceeds going to the CFRI at the Children’s Hospital.
“I find that the CDA is a great source of support, particularly for newly diagnosed diabetics and probably more so for the parents,” John concludes. “Over the years, I have referred a number of people, mostly anxious parents, who have received value from the organization and, interestingly, a number who have become strong financial supporters. I should also mention the camp, which I think is wonderful for kids and I was delighted to learn that, although it has moved since my involvement, it is still going strong. The Association continues to offer hope for a cure, support for diabetics and their families and new ways of treating complications.”