John Bowlin

John Carter Bowlin was born October 22, 1935 to Garold and Celia Bowlin in Lewistown, ID. He had 3 siblings: Don, Norma, and Celia. Johns father succumbed to alcoholism and his mother struggled to raise four children. This resulted in John being reared by his grandmother, who he spoke of with deep reverence. His Uncle Herbie was also a huge influence in his life as he taught him about automobiles, mechanics, and racing. These lessons would stick with John for the rest of his life. A child born during the Great Depression, John learned to scrap and salvage at a young age. He often told stories of collecting grease from restaurants to recycle.Armed with an 8th grade education and his signature head strong self-ambition, John ran away from home to work the railroad. Soon he met Naomi and had a daughter, Judy K. But the road called him again and he left the railroad to do road construction. It was during this time that he met Sandra whom he married. They had six kids in six years: John, Tina, Brian, Tab, Garold, and Ladonna. During his time in road construction, John developed an incredible skill for operating heavy equipment. He was given the largest scrapper of his day and often boasted about operating it for one-and-a-half lifetimes--12 years (most men lasted 8). With his scrapper under him, John was the first man to cut the road to Lookout Pass. Ill never forget it, no one else wanted to go. Goin up that mountain all I could see was sky, sky, sky. Then over the top and finally I could see the earth. He also took pride in carving The Lochsa (Lolo Pass), and told stories of moose knocking down cab-over semi-trucks. One day when John came home from construction, Sandra told him that he made more money when he scrapped than with his construction pay. Thus the beginning of the legend we all know.John was hired by Pacific Recycling to cut cars. Because their current crew of two people cut 12 cars a day, they arranged to pay him per car rather than by the hour. By the time John went to lunch, he had cut 12 cars! When he returned Pacific let him go telling him they could not afford to pay him. He argued that he was doing twice as much work as two men and actually saving them money, they were having none of it. So John went out on his own, inventing trailer lifts and wenches to haul his own iron. When John heard of a car crusher, he thought it was the best invention ever made--J.B. Junk was born.Like his father, John struggled with alcoholism. He and Sandra were divorced. Thinking it was for the best, John agreed to allow Bud Hoots to adopt all of his children. This decision would haunt him throughout his life. John would later meet Linda and Michelle. They became a family in 1981 when he married Linda.Even though JB only received an 8th grade education, he was a wiz with numbers--often calculating in his head before you could punch the equations into a calculator. His keen mind and Irish work ethic allowed him to thrive in the salvage industry. He even took part in some of the designs that further advanced the speed of the crusher. At one time JB had three crushers operating throughout the Northwest as well as Auto Parts and Recycling, which is managed by Linda in Great Falls, MT.During the 40+ years J.B. crushed cars he employed hundreds of people and influenced even more. They would all tell you he was a hard-headed, hard-working, short-tempered, stubborn olbastard. They would be right. But JB was a passionate person--he loved his work. He knew what was needed to succeed and what was unnecessary. He had great foresight, knowing where he was taking the business, and hed be damned if anyone got in his way. As a hard worker himself, JB had zero tolerance for those who were work shy or lacked common sense. His work was hard and his work was dangerous. One needed to look around.John was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Norma.He is survived by his wife Linda; 8 children; numerous grandchildren, and even more great-grandchildren. Many of the boys (their spouses) and their friends worked for JB and will remember numerous stories and advice given by the ol man. After which he was fond of saying, Take my advice and do as you please.....and that horn, that damned horn. BEEP BEEP!!!You will forever be in our hearts and our memories, whenever we drive through this part of the country or another.