For more than 20 years while running her insurance business started in the late ’60s, Rita Bowling shared an office with then-Supervisor Frank Sabbatini
Sabbatini ended up being a six-term supervisor, so for all those years, Bowling had a behind-the-scenes look at county politics. It sparked her own interest in running for supervisor in District 3, a seat she won in 1986.
“She knew so much of the county business before she ran,” said Carol Lenoir, one of her two daughters.
Bowling had what it takes to last a long time in local politics, as she went on to serve four terms on the board before retiring in 2002.
Bowling, the first woman elected to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, has died. She was 76.
Over her political career, Bowling developed a reputation as a straight-talking communicator who was tight with the budget and an advocate for slow growth. Before running for a board seat, she was also the first female foreman of the San Benito County Grand Jury.
Born in Quebec, Canada, Bowling and her family moved to Hollister when she was 10. She attended Sacred Heart Parish School and San Benito High School. She was married to her first husband Dick Renfrow, with whom she had the two daughters, at age 15. Her second marriage to the late Linden Bowling lasted nearly 50 years.
Lenoir said Bowling ran the family with a structured approach.
“She was a very generous soul but she ran the family pretty much like the board meetings,” Lenoir said, adding a laugh. “She was a strong leader but she had great respect for her husband, Linden. She was a matriarch. She was a leader.”
Lenoir added how Bowling was an “Army wife” and “loved her country,” noting how she was instrumental in the development of Veterans Memorial Park as well.
Bowling requested no funeral service, but her daughter reflected on some of the cards – and what others were saying – received by the family.
“She was a leading woman in the community and was most honest – just real high integrity,” Lenoir said. “She said what she meant. She didn’t say things different when you weren’t listening.”
Spending much of her childhood in South County, Bowling said a lot of good things about the area’s scenic landscapes, often calling it “God’s country.” Her love for the area showed while serving on the board, said Pat Loe, her successor in the District 3 seat.
“The best way to express it is that – any way she could promote the county or do anything positive to help the county, she was the first one in line to do it,” Loe said.
Loe said people never had to guess where Bowling stood on an issue.
“She was very conservative with the budget and she definitely had an open mind,” Loe said. “She listened to all sides and she always did what was best for San Benito County. She loved the job and she loved the people of San Benito County.”
