DOWLING, William
Franklin
William F. Dowling, born and raised in Baltimore, passed away peacefully in the hospital, February 26 2023 in Roswell, GA. Bill had a strong will to live, surviving Stage IV cancer after retirement and then stoically handling other health issues late in life. Bill was 82.
At age 11, his family left Baltimore to buy a working farm and move to the country. This was an enriching 4 years in Bill's childhood development and he loved sharing stories of fond memories about the fun, the work, and a few misadventures he experienced there in the country. Bill could tell spellbinding stories and jokes all day long.
On the farm he learned about crops, agriculture, Mother Nature; about training MD state prize-winning hunting dogs; how to ride horses and his favorite hog Minnie; about the never-ending cycle of birth, life and death in the animal world around them. When the family returned to Baltimore, he found that his city friends had no concept of life and nature as he had experienced there.
Back in town, Bill's mother saw to it that he and his brother Bobby attended a private boys high school, taking 3 city buses each way. Marrying his high school sweetheart, they started a family and had 2 lively and wonderful children: son, Michael and daughter, Kimberly.
After graduating from Johns Hopkins with a mechanical engineering degree, he worked with Western Electric which later became AT&T. In 1976 he was transferred to Atlanta, where he completed 35 years with the company as manager of 3 regional former Baby Bells in Phoenix, Nebraska and Dallas, and ran the Strategic Product Planning Division for the U.S.
Bill loved science, growing plants and gardening. After retirement he took the Cobb County 20-week Master Gardener course, and finished with the highest exam score ever made. In the Fall of 2003, Bill met Phyllis when she offered to share her calamari with him at what was to become their favorite local restaurant. For the following 19 years, they were each other's rock.
Bill is survived by his son, Michael; daughter, Kimberly (Willie); brother, Bob (Agnes); grandchildren, Michael, Patrick, and Shea who all made him so proud; and their mother, Dr Sally Dowling, all of Ocean City, MD; and stepson, Jim Perry of Woodstock, GA.
A musical Remembrance Celebration for friends and family was held yesterday at the home of our wonderful friends and neighbors, Cathie and Steve Bray of Roswell.
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