CLAREMONT -- Johnny Hipps lost a great friend Wednesday evening.

Ray Bowman, 62, of Oxford School Road in Claremont, drowned in his irrigation pond. Authorities said Bowman’s death appears to be accidental. The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate.

County 911 personnel received a drowning call at Bowman’s residence shortly before 6 p.m.

Authorities say Bowman’s son found his dad’s hat floating in the pond. Ray Bowman, who had Parkinson’s disease and traveled around his fruit farm on his golf cart, apparently was working on some pipes in the irrigation pond, Hipps said. Bowman could not swim and had a prosthetic foot, Hipps said.

“(Ray) never let anything get him down,” Hipps said. “He was in pain all the time, but he never let it bother him or slow him down. He just kept going and never gave up.”

The Record shared Bowman’s story with the community in a November 2004 article. In the article, Bowman said he first noticed signs of Parkinson’s at age 28. At age 60, his right foot was amputated. Two weeks after surgery, he was back in his orchard, picking apples and peaches from a golf cart.

“I just refuse to let it get me down,” Bowman said then.

Bowman was well known in the community, Hipps said. The two met nearly 30 years ago at Woodlawn Baptist Church. Bowman also helped Hipps get a job. Even after Bowman retired in the early 1990s, Hipps stopped by often to talk of fruit, family and the world.

“You can’t say enough good about Ray,” Hipps said. “He was a fighter. He was happy. He’ll be missed.”

Bowman grew up in Taylorsville. He married Carol Bowman, and for the last several years, they ran Red Roof Produce.

Bowman spent three years in the U.S. Army. In 1967, he served as a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Bowman settled in Catawba County, and after 23 years with Gulf State, retired because of his condition.

Josh Yoder, Record Staff Writer, contributed to this article.