(CNN) 鈥� Herbert 鈥淏ertie鈥� Bowman,聽聽who worked on Capitol Hill for more than 60 years, died Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He was 92.
According to his聽autobiography 鈥淪tep by Step,鈥� at 13, Bowman imagined Washington, D.C. could offer him a different path than his South Carolina family farm. He聽鈥渇antasized鈥澛燼bout a life 鈥渦p the road,鈥� where he could be lost in a bustling city.聽After a chance meeting with the late Democratic Sen. Burnet Maybank of South Carolina,聽his聽鈥渇antasy became an obsession,鈥澛爃e聽wrote.
Bowman forged friendships with presidents, worked his way from janitorial staff to the Senate floor and made history with the longevity of his unprecedented career, according to his autobiography.聽From stair-sweeping, Bowman climbed the staff ranks, eventually finding a home in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 鈥� one of the most powerful committees within Congress 鈥斅�.
, though he told C-Span he continued to work on and off the payroll.聽But Bowman didn鈥檛 retire for long. When former Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican, assumed the chair of the committee, he told Bowman he wanted him to return as his hearing coordinator, Bowman told C-Span in 2008.
聽how he could consider lawmakers who opposed civil rights legislation as friends, Bowman said, 鈥淎nytime you have someone that鈥檚 going to do things for you or ready to help you when you鈥檙e in need and stick by, that鈥檚 one reason why I call them my friend.鈥�
Bowman wrote in his memoir that he 鈥渘ever discussed with Senator Helms the terrible things he said about Blacks.鈥�
Bowman鈥檚 unwavering dedication and kindness earned him praise in 2019 from former President Bill Clinton, who聽reminisced to CBS about Bowman, his former supervisor and then聽the only African American Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff member, according to Clinton鈥檚 foreword in Bowman鈥檚 autobiography.
Bowman oversaw a college-aged Clinton when he worked as a messenger for then- Arkansas Democratic Sen. William Fulbright, Bowman told C-Span.聽Bowman was 鈥渆xactly the kind of person you鈥檇 want to take you under his wing, if you鈥檙e a 20-year-old student just working your first job in Washington,鈥� Clinton said in a 2019 interview with CBS.
鈥淔rom his humble beginnings as a poor farm boy in the segregated South to his years as a junior member of the Senate janitorial staff to his tenure as hearing coordinator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he epitomizes the kind of citizen that makes this country great,鈥� Clinton wrote in the foreword of Bowman鈥檚 biography.
鈥淭his is the American dream,鈥� Bowman told C-Span in 2008,聽sitting in an empty Senate Foreign Relations meeting room, 鈥渓iving the American dream, that I鈥檓 right here 鈥斅燬enator Helms always had us say, 鈥榊ou know, bud, neither of us made us through college, but here we are.鈥欌��
President Joe Biden, a former senator on and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote that Bowman鈥檚 autobiography 鈥�,鈥� was 鈥渁 great American story by a frontline witness to history.鈥�
In 2019, the United States Senate Federal Credit Union named their headquarters after Bowman, a former chairman of the USSFCU and the聽member.聽That same year, an 88-year-old Bowman聽聽he had no plans of retiring.
USSFCU CEO and President Timothy Anderson told CNN, Bowman was 鈥渓ike a second father to him.鈥�
鈥淚 am the CEO of this organization today, in large part because of Bertie as a mentor,鈥� Anderson said. He attributed Bertie鈥檚 success to a motto he often shared: 鈥淲ork hard, be true to yourself, take responsibility, have a positive outlook and then expect the best from people.鈥�
Anderson said that just before his death, Bowman asked for his funeral procession to pass the headquarters named after him. 鈥淗e walked the halls with presidents and senators, but Bertie treated everyone the same 鈥� and he employed us to do the same,鈥� Anderson said, adding Bowman 鈥渄idn鈥檛 care about title.鈥�
In 2020, Bowman was inducted into the African American Credit Union Hall of Fame by the African-American Credit Union Coalition.
Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, described Bowman on Thursday as the 鈥渧ery embodiment of the American Dream and will continue to inspire new generations of public servants to pick up where he left off.鈥�
鈥淗e imprinted himself on the work and lives of every member that had the privilege to serve on our Committee across both sides of the aisle, and did so with honor, decency, and kindness,鈥� Cardin said in a statement.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee,聽, the platform formerly known as Twitter, 鈥淏ertie wasn鈥檛 just a fixture of so many Foreign Relations hearings I attended 鈥� he was a warm, funny, and friendly presence in the Senate. I鈥檒l miss him.鈥�
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