The Clay Bowles Foundation

Clay is one of the most incredible people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. He was kind-hearted and inspiring in all that he put his mind to accomplish. He was a loving husband and an incredible father. He loved the Lord and sought to teach his boys all about serving Him. He also volunteered as a football team coach and led the Alamance Civitan patriots to their first championship in 7 years! He was so proud of that trophy and the boys that made that incredible night happen.

 

I will never forget the first time that Clay played drums at church. He was a passionate worshiper and loved encouraging the worship team to allow the Holy Spirit to carry the song wherever God wanted it to go. It brought incredible passion and authenticity to our team and worship services. For almost three years, he was our only drummer. He never missed a weekend and loved the opportunity to serve. During that time, he got baptized and married to his now-wife Stephanie. God was doing incredible things in his life. He told me that he was so grateful to God for restoring everything in his life that he could ever desire.

 

 

 

 

In 2019, Clay began to deal with some aches and pains that he was unable to identify the cause of. He was tough and, for a while, just shrugged it off. Eventually, it got so bad that he decided he needed to go to the emergency room. Immediately the doctors discovered signs in his blood that his body was fighting Leukemea. We were all so devastated about the news of his diagnosis. He decided to fight the illness, and that's percisly what he did. Over the last three years, Clay fought cancer toe to toe and never once backed down. Later that year, the dr advised a treatment plan. He went through with his first round of chemotherapy and reached remission. He then spent three months in isolation for a bone marrow transplant that his sister Ashley donated to him. After a year and a half of fighting, he was finally in remission. We celebrated, and his family planned a vacation to get away and spend time together at the beach. Right before they left, he went in for his follow-up screening, and that's when they discovered that leukemia had returned.

 

I will never forget the phone call when Clay called me to tell me the news that it was back. We cried deeply together, afraid it may never go away but continuing to pray that God still had a plan. So they developed a new strategy, and the fight started over again. He began a clinical trial for a pill that converted the cancer cells into normal cells in his body. It was working! The finish line was in sight, and he even began playing drums again at church. He was months away from beating it a second time when they found a rare fungus in his lungs. Leukemia had compromised his immune system and allowed a fungus to attach to his lungs. Only three months later, he was gone. It is one of the most tragic things I have ever witnessed.

 

 

 

 

A week before he passed, he shared his concern for his boys in-depth with me. He was afraid that they would struggle and not have what they needed. He was worried that they would forget him and forget everything he taught them. He was fearful that they would have to want for everything and struggle as he did growing up. One of his goals in life was to give his boys the foundation that he never had so that they could go further than he ever did. He was concerned that in his absence, this goal would become impossible. Nothing could ever come close to replacing the loss of a father, but financial support through this go-fund-me could provide the resources they need that Clay always intended to provide. The last day I got to speak with Clay, he made me promise him that I would do everything I could to help look after his boys and keep my eye on them in his absence. I need help to keep this promise and ask you to consider donating to support his boys.

 

Thank you for all your prayers and financial support. I know this won't take away the pain his boys are experiencing, but I do believe that it will allow them to focus on grieving without worrying about everything else.