Winter Tourism Promoter Bowman Dies At 62 Of Cancer Memorial Service Today At Sandpoint First Lutheran

Lorraine Bowman recognized the area’s winter tourism potential long before state policy-makers did.

In the early 1990s, she cajoled the state into advertising Idaho ski resorts in Seattle’s TV market.

“She pushed the state into winter marketing. … It was new ground at that time,” said Jonathan Coe, former Sandpoint chamber director.

Bowman, 62, of Sandpoint, died Tuesday following a battle with cancer. A 2 p.m. memorial service takes place today at Sandpoint First Lutheran Church.

Friends and co-workers remember Bowman as outspoken, determined and kind.

She and her late husband, Bill, moved to Sandpoint in 1972. They purchased Connie’s Cafe, and eventually built Best Western Connie’s Motor Inn. The couple sold the 53-room hotel, restaurant and lounge to Hospitality Associates in 1994.

Bowman worked with the restaurant side of the business, mentoring many of the young people employed there.

“She had a very nurturing side,” general manager Bonnie Sanborn said. “She used to say that she raised a lot of kids.”

Bowman was also a savvy businesswoman who recognized the tourism potential of North Idaho’s lakes, ski resorts and scenic beauty.

She served two terms on the Idaho Travel Council, including a stint as chairwoman. The advisory group distributes state hotel-motel tax receipts for tourism marketing.

Bowman was “a very good voice for North Idaho and Sandpoint on the council,” said Carol Novak, the Sandpoint chamber’s tourism marketing manager.

Bowman saw the Puget Sound area and Canada as fertile markets for tourists to North Idaho. Nothing short of the best-designed brochures or marketing pieces satisfied her.

“She was a no nonsense person who would say things as she saw them and would demand quality work. I think she brought that to everything she did,” said Coe, who is now the director of the Coeur d’Alene chamber.