Carol Dowd

Carol Schluter Dowd, 84, of West Hartford and Crescent Beach, Niantic, died Sunday, May 20, 2007 at St. Mary Home after a lengthy illness. She was the wife of Dr. Donald R. Dowd, to whom she was married for 59 years. Together they raised six children. Born Carolyn Elizabeth Schluter on Aug. 29, 1922 in Brooklyn, N.Y., she was the youngest child of John H. and Mary Gannon Schluter. A social worker by profession, she received a master's degree from Fordham University School of Social Work in 1947 and a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1944. She worked for the Hartford public schools at Our Lady of Sorrows, Cathedral of St. Joseph, West Middle School, SS Cyril & Methodius and St. Augustine School; for Catholic Family Services in Hartford; and Catholic Charities in Brooklyn. Carol put family and faith before everything else and was a wise and loving parent and grandparent, wife, sister and friend. She was ahead of her time as a working mother, returning to her career as soon as her youngest child entered kindergarten. Yet she found time to be a Girl Scout leader and a Cub Scout den mother, and to get enthusiastically involved in her children's many activities. She was known for her energy, sharp wit and wonderful sense of humor. She loved to laugh. She was a member of the National Association of Social Workers and of the Niantic Bay Yacht Club. Besides her husband of 59 years, she is survived by her children and their spouses, Mary Elizabeth Lisa McGinley and her husband, Morgan, of New London; Donna Cullen and her husband, Thomas, of West Hartford; Bernard Dowd and his wife, Joan, of Niantic; Gregory Dowd and his wife, Gemma, of Niantic; Kevin Dowd of Niantic; Thomas Dowd and his wife, Ermine, of Niantic; and a daughter-in-law, Paula Dowd, of West Hartford. She also leaves 14 grandchildren: John and Brendan McGinley and Carolyn McGinley Redmond; Scott, Christopher and Brian Cullen; Timothy and Robert Dowd; Ian and Ross Dowd; and William, Laura, Patrick and Jonathan Dowd; and five great-grandchildren: Mannion and Ryan Hope McGinley, Elizabeth and Jack Redmond, and Thomas Jan Cullen. She also leaves her sister, Marie Schluter, of Niantic, and several nieces and nephews. Her brother, John P. Schluter, and sister, Marguerite Schluter, predeceased her. The funeral will be Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. from the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, West Hartford. Burial will at 1 p.m. in Union Cemetery, Niantic. Calling hours are Tuesday from 5-8 p.m. at the funeral home. Online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.mol loyfuneralhome.com. Donations in her memory may be made to Catholic Family Services, 467 Bloomfield Ave., Bloomfield, CT 06002.

Carol Dowd

August 29, 1922 - May 20, 2007