Father Don Mowery, local voice for youth causes, dies at 86

Ron Maxey | The Commercial Appeal

Finding outdoor spaces for integrated youth programs became a tricky proposition for Rev. Don Mowery after the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil unrest may have complicated matters, but no problem for Father Don. He forged a partnership with the Naval Air Station in Millington and was soon back in business serving the area's youth, black and white.

Such was the unstoppable nature of one of the city's most recognizable advocates for youth service. It was a nature that wouldn't let up until the ambulance took him from his home at Trezevant Manor to the hospital, where he died Tuesday.

Mowery, 86, moved to Memphis from Nashville in 1963 to lead a new social service ministry called Youth Service Inc. It was the precursor to BRIDGES USA, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

"He reached out to young people from disadvantaged circumstances and did his best to provide them with healthy opportunities to better themselves," said philanthropist Becky Wilson, who approached Mowery in 1988 with the idea for Bridge Builders, which would become Youth Services' premier program.

During the time Mowery was in charge, Youth Services grew from an agency working out of an office to one that, by design, went into the community to meet youth where they were. Key relationships with government leaders and Memphis City Schools played an important role in the effort to serve the needs of young people.

In 1970, he debuted the popular "Talk It Out" radio program and established four major youth programs, three of which expanded beyond Memphis to more than 120 military bases nationwide.

"Father Don's entire 60-year career as a priest was devoted to inspiring and helping young people build and maintain successful and rewarding lives," Darrell Uselton said of Mowery, a Yale Divinity School graduate and ordained Episcopal priest. Uselton penned Mowery's biography, "Spiritual Networking."

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Added Cynthia Ham, BRIDGES president and CEO: "Father Don's legacy is such an important one in the evolution from Youth Services to BRIDGES. We are reminded every day by the Father Don memorial wall in our board room of his huge heart and his incredible impact on the lives of so many young people."

Dr. Mary McDonald, former superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Memphis Diocese and now president of MCD Partners consulting firm, knew Mowery for more than 30 years.

"Throughout his life of service to others, particularly to the youth in our community, Father Don's hallmark was compassion, innovation and hope," she said in a statement. "In his wisdom, he was always finding new ways to bring people together to promote understanding, healing and peace. Father Don's legacy of love for all God's children will live on in the hearts and minds and lives of all inspired by his work and by his goodness."

Mowery's widow, Julie Bailey Mowery, said they had lived at Trezevant Manor since last October. They were married 35 years and had no children.

A public memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Cathedral, 700 Poplar Avenue.