James Tracy Bowling, 64, died Sunday, February 27, 2011.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 4, 2011 at Ventosa Plantation, 279 Clark Canal Road, Scotland Neck, NC.
Tracy was a loving husband, father, brother, and friend. He was a former Deputy for the Wake County Sheriff’s office and K9 training director for the Sheriff’s office K9 program. Tracy was also the K9 training director for the North Carolina Wildlife Enforcement K9 program. He developed the Explosive and Tunnel Detection Canine training program for the US Department of Defense and was accepted by NC Courts as an expert witness in law enforcement canine training. Tracy was a licensed pilot in both airplanes and helicopters and designed and tested numerous restraint devices for airborne transportation of dogs. He was an accomplished author of numerous articles for various publications and websites and was a contributing writer for Police K9 Magazine and K9 Cop Magazine. Tracy was the author of the book, Police K9 Tracking: A Guide to Training and Deploying the Police Tracking Dog.
Tracy is survived by his wife, Tennessee Denton Bowling; daughter, Micah Rogier and husband Bob of Raleigh; son, Eric Bowling and wife Sarah of Baton Rouge, LA; brother, Warren Bowling of Greensboro; niece, Candace Darden and husband George of Greenville; great-niece, Avery Darden; and three grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 3, 2011 at Letchworth Funeral Home in Scotland Neck.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park, P.O. Drawer 368, Scotland Neck, NC 27874.
Arrangements are being handled by Letchworth Funeral Home in Scotland Neck.
Hey Tracy,
I have often thought of you and the impression you left on those of us that were lucky enough to share and learn from you, your knowledge and wisdom. I have shared your name, your knowledge, and my experiences from working with and learning from the best. I miss our talks. So many of the handlers criticized you and your personality traits for being to hard on everyone. You once told me it is sometimes better to be contentious when training people. I always said you were the open heart surgeon of training K9s and handlers. You wanted and expected one hundred and fifty percent from everyone. I always respected you and loved you like a brother. Thank you and RIP my brother.
Miss you bunches buddy
Been thinking about you lately. I will always remember the things you taught me both in life and training. You’ll always be someone I loved and respected.