The University community mourns the loss of graduate student Maria Bowling

Maria Bowling, 26, a first-year doctoral candidate in history, died on Nov. 9 in Princeton. 

Bowling was from Angola and earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations and an MA in politics at Sorbonne University in Paris. She was fluent in Portuguese, French and English.

She came to Princeton to pursue studies in the history of Angola, with a focus on the Angolan borderlands and the history and politics of language and nation-building in southern Africa. On campus, she was a member of the French and Francophone Society. She also participated in the Graduate School’s Graduate Scholars Program.

Surviving family members include her husband, Tanner Bowling; her parents, Crisostomo and Rosario Pinto Catotola; her sister, Ariela Catotola; and her brother, Arialdo Catotola. A memorial service is being planned, with details to be announced later.

The University has extended condolences to the Bowling family. On Monday, the University hosted an opportunity on campus for the community to gather, reflect and support one another.

Friends and members of the University community are invited to the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, on Saturday, Nov. 22, between 3 and 7 p.m. There will be no formal service. Bowling’s husband and his family will be in attendance, as well as Bowling's father, uncle and aunt. Bowling's family will have a formal funeral for her at a later date in Angola.

Students may reach out to Counseling and Psychological Services (which can be reached 24 hours a day at 609-258-3141), Office of Religious Life chaplains, the Student Affairs team of the Graduate School, and residential college staff. Additional information on resources for students is available on the TigerLife website. Faculty, postdocs and staff may contact Carebridge to speak with a licensed professional by calling 800-437-0911.