OSWEGO, NY – William Q. Dowdle, 90, of Oswego, and Sarasota, Fla., died peacefully on Tuesday January 7, 2014.
Bill was born in Oswego, the son of Frank D. and Katherine Quinlan Dowdle.
He served in the US Navy during World War II in the Philippines and later stateside.
He attended Texas A&M, Cornell University and later attended Oswego State University.
Bill worked for the Oswego City City School District. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he was the truant officer for the district. He later taught high school science and eventually taught geometry, trigonometry, calculus and introduced the first computer course in the Oswego High School in 1973.
Bill retired in 1984 as the chairman of the Math Department.
Bill and his wife Betty, whom he married in 1952, retired to Sarasota.
They continued to spend summers in Oswego. They returned to Oswego to live full-time in 2012.
Bill is survived by his beloved wife Betty; son, William R.; daughter, Elizabeth M. and her husband, Kenneth Roller; son, James M. and his wife, Katherine.
He is the cherished grandfather of Brian W., Meghan M. DPT, Patrick S. and Caroline L. Dowdle. Also surviving is his brother, James H. (Barbara) Dowdle; and brother-in-law, Jack Reed (Marjorie).
Bill was predeceased by his brother, Edward J.; and sister, Anne Beardslee.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be Saturday at 10 a.m. St. Paul’s Church.
Visiting will be held at the Dowdle Funeral Home, 154 E. Fourth St., on Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m.
Memorial contributions made to St. Joseph’s Indian School, 1301 N. Main St., Chamberlin, SD, 57325. www.stjo.org or to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital – 800-805-5856 or shop.stjude.org is appreciated.
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Mr. Dowdle was a wonderful man. I was lucky enough to grow up next door and was included in many of his family’s outings. I never heard a cross word, only encouragement. One favorite memory is Mr. D loading loading us all into his Caddy convertible to go get ice cream. My sincere condolences to Mrs. Dowdle and my childhood friends Bill, Liz and Jim (and their families).
I really enjoyed Mr Dowdle as my math teacher, but got to see the family side as well when I babysat in my senior year of high school. A truly nice man. My sincere condolences to all of the family.
Marion (Burgo) Looker
I was very fortunate to have had Dr. Dowdle for math a couple of the years I was at OHS between 1973 and 1977. He was a wonderful teacher and person, very kind and patient which was what I needed to learn math back then. I have very fond memories of him and the humor he brought to class with him every day. I am very sad to hear of his passing and send my condolences to his family.