 His wife was elected to Barnet London Borough Council in 1968, but soon fell ill and died in February 1970.When Bowman married fellow Camden councillor and Member of Parliament for Lancaster Elaine Kellett (who like him had been widowed) in 1971, the couple joined their names and adopted the surname 'Kellett-Bowman'.Kellett-Bowman gave up his job to study for a Master of Business Administration degree at Cranfield Institute of Technology in 1972, and in 1974 became a business and management consultant in private practice.