Otis R. Bowen was born near Rochester, Indiana, on February 26, 1918, to Vernie and Pearl Bowen.  He attended high school in Francesville, Indiana, and later went on to receive his A.B. (1939) and M.D. (1942) from Indiana University.  Bowen also holds 25 honorary degrees from schools such as Bethel College, Valparaiso University, and the University of Notre Dame. 

After interning at South Bend Memorial Hospital, he served in the medical corps of the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, from 1943 to 1946.  He was with the first wave of Allied troops to land on Okinawa in 1945.  Upon returning from the war, Bowen established a family medical practice in Bremen, Indiana, and continued to practice medicine until 1972.  However, it is said that as governor and secretary he always had a prescription pad handy, recommending remedies for voters, colleagues, and members of the press.

Growing up during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, Bowen felt that people were becoming too dependent on the government, and he joined the Republican Party in 1940.  He began his political career in 1952 with his election as Marshall County coroner.  Bowen served multiple terms as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1956 to 1957 and 1960 to 1972.  He served as minority leader, vice chairman for the Legislative Council, and most notably, Speaker of the House through four legislative sessions (1967, 1969, 1971, and 1972). 

In 1968, Bowen sought the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana, but he was defeated by Edgar Whitcomb.  In 1972 he ran again, was elected, and served two terms from 1973 to 1981.  He was the first governor of Indiana to serve two consecutive terms since 1851.  His major accomplishments as governor included a major restructuring of the tax system to reduce the reliance on property taxes, major improvements to state park facilities, development of a statewide emergency medical services system, and adoption of a medical malpractice law that became the model for legislation for many other states.  During 1978-79, Bowen was also Chairman of the National Governors' Conference, Republican Governors' Conference, and the Midwestern Governors' Conference.

After leaving the governor's office, Bowen accepted a position as clinical professor of family medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.  He also served as chairman of the Advisory Commission on Social Security from 1982 through 1984.

In 1985, President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Bowen for the position of Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.  He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 93 to 2, making him the first medical doctor to serve in this position. He served as secretary until 1989.  During this time he oversaw the development of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 and was deeply involved in AIDS education and research.  Bowen also focused attention such issues as elderly care, family planning, fetal tissue research, cancer and arthritis education and research, and drug abuse treatment as well as medical liability and defensive medicine.

In his personal life, Otis R. Bowen is a family man.  He wed Elizabeth Ann Steinmann in 1939, and they had four children—Judy, Robert, Richard, and Tim.   They were married 42 years, until Beth Bowen 's death from cancer on January 1, 1981.  In September 1981, he married childhood friend Rose Mary Hochstetler Bowen.  Sadly, Rose Bowen also died of cancer in January 1992. Bowen married Carol Lynn Flosenzier Mikesell, a former patient and Bremen native, in 1993. 

Following his term as Secretary, he retired to his home in Bremen, Indiana.  In his retirement, he has spent his time traveling with his family and gardening.   Throughout the 1990s, he also continued to serve as a member of several community and statewide organizations.  His autobiography, entitled Doc: Memories from a Life in Public Service, was published in 2000.

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