Doug and I were friends at Edwards AFB and worked in the same area on different F-16 programs.  Our 2 girls played with their girls.  Doug was a great father and pilot and loved to hunt wild turkeys.  Sorry to learn of his passing.

I would like to send my sincerest condolences for the loss of your loved one and of my classmate, Doug.  My prayers are with you for God's peace and comfort in this time of sorrow.
All the best,
Vic Nutt
Class of '77
CS-14

Doug and I became friends while at Ramstein flying the Phantom.  For both of us, it was our first tour, and it wasn’t long before we were crewed to fly together almost exclusively.  With our limited experience, still wearing butter bars, we depended on each other a great deal more than when paired with a more experienced crew member.  I knew right way Doug was going to be an exceptional pilot.  He was passionate about air combat.  We had a lot of down time because of the weather in Germany, and I often watched as he spent hours drawing out his plan of attacks on the chalk board, trying different things.  With his calm demeanor and maturity, it wasn’t long before he became a flight lead and instructor.  This gave him the opportunity to test his own ideas regarding tactics that he had been itching to try out.  Those were great times.  Doug, especially, enjoyed going up against F-15’s and F-16’s, as he was determined to find some weakness to exploit.  I still have a picture that Doug had made from gun camera film of his first guns kill of an F-16.  He had it framed and gave it to me with an inscription that said, “Bum’s Kill, Thanks, Doug 'Slick' Marlowe”.  I didn’t argue with him, but that was all Doug.  One memory that also stands out was flying at Red Flag.  I was absolutely petrified but watched in awe as we flew through the valleys and desert at 100 feet and 600 knots, feeling my heart up in my throat as I knew what was coming.  Every ridge we crested, Doug would roll inverted and pull, trying to stay as low as possible while all I could do was watch the cactus, that were now where the sky was supposed to be, get larger until Doug would roll out again.  I could tell he was having the time of his life.  Vaya con Dios, my friend.
“Bum” Phillips


I knew  Doug during our days as the Academy. I was in the 20th CS and got to know him as a classmate. We had similar careers, and I find it interesting that we never crossed paths while in the Air Force. I remember Doug as a great guy who cared about the things that mattered, loved life, loved the Air Force, and had a high standard of excellence. Above all, he was just a good friend. I had and will continue to miss him. 

Daryl Jones, Class of '77

May God guard and continue to guide you brother and put in a good word for the rest of us. It seemed a life well lived.
- Richard (Griff) Griffith, USAFA 77, CS-35
Fort Worth, TX

Doug,  I really enjoyed knowing you while at the Zoo. Even though we did not see much of each other during our Air Force careers, I treasured our friendship. Best to you in the hereafter. My best to your family and loved ones.

Daryl Jones, Class of "77

Just learning today of the sad passing of your father. I am so sorry to hear this. My heart is heavy for you three girls.  Your father was such a precious man. Our family has such sweet memories of him and your family living behind us in Tucson.  He was such an involved dad.  He always had a smile on his face. I’m sure he is smiling down from heaven and rejoicing being in the presence of Jesus. Love and hugs to all of you. 

Doug and I share our Proudest Achievement - that of working on the SADL program and making it a success.  I was on the contractor side, at Hughes Aircraft Company, then Raytheon.  We would talk daily at the early stages of the program, often times on Saturday evenings, working out program issues and crafting new designs.  He claimed to have many technical breakthroughs during his morning shower, and I remember one time during breakfast at a McDonalds in Washington DC where he showed me his design for a SADL feature called "INS compensation" - which he sketched on a napkin, of course.  It was brilliant...just one of many memories and stories of the SADL days that I cherish.  Rest in peace, my good friend.

To the Marlowe family, We have lost a true gentleman. Doug was steady, dedicated and professional but most of all, he cared about people. I worked with Doug at SAFB the last few years, he always had a smile, asked about my family and had encouraging words. Doug was a kind and thoughtful man, that obviously loved his family and cared about those around him. It was an honor to work with him. He will truly be missed.

I had privilege of working with Doug at MDA for many years.  He was a true gentleman and a consummate professional.  May he rest in peace with the Lord.

I am so sorry to hear about Doug's passing. I have memories of Doug and that fantastic smile that seemed to be glued to his face, because every time I saw him he was smiling. I loved our conversation. Doug was an easy person to talk to and a very good listener. 
I would love to be able to attend his service.  

A beloved man!   There are a few men in your life that you hope you will model and imitate in some small way because it will make you a better human being - Mr. Marlowe was such a man!   I am thankful to have worked for him and to know him as a friend!  To Mr. Marlowe's family.  My heart grieves with yours. Mrs. Marlowe, you raised an incredible son who made the world a safer and better place.  To his daughters, he loved you dearly, and spoke of you often and was very proud of you.  It was an honor and privilege to know and work for your husband, father, and grandpa!  

I wanted to let you know how sad I was to hear that Doug had passed away.  I didn't know him as long as most but I worked with him on C2BMC.  I am the Technical Director and would visit Schriever Air Force Base for business.  He was always so kind and helpful.  He will truly be missed.  

I had the honor and privilege to work with/for Doug with MDA for many years. His kind heart and calming demeanor were a trade mark of his leadership style. We shared the fact that we both had 3 daughters and our meetings and conversations always started with him asking me how they were doing and he also always asked how I was doing (along with asking about my golf game).  Relationships always came first before the work details. He will truly be missed.

A true Gentleman in every sense of the word. I will miss our Academy conversations and you taking the time to inquire about the status of my cadets.  The phrase, “How are the girls doing at the Academy,” will always ring true in my ears.  From Academy life, to cars, to planes, to football we always had something we could talk about together.  I will miss these conversations and I will miss you.  “As we fly among the clouds we’re sure to Head their plea, to take care my friend.  Watch your six, and do one more roll Just for me.”

Mr. Marlowe was an inspiration.  I often had the privilege to walk alongside him on that long trek from the parking lot to the bus for work.  Along the way he would smile regardless of the challenge and have a humorous comment.  He will be greatly missed.

I have known Mr. Marlowe for many years supporting the Missile Defense Agency.  I will always remember his dedication to our country and his quiet thoughtful demeanor.  He genuinely cared about the people he worked with.  He would often make a point to stop and ask me how my family was doing or to share hunting and fishing stories.  When confronted with difficult complex problems, he would often think about them in private, and come back with solutions that no one else had considered.  I respected him very much and do not have words for how sad I am by his passing.  My most sincere condolences, thoughts, and prayers to the family during this difficult time.

I've know Mr. Marlowe for the better part of 10 years supporting the Missile Defense Agency.  I've never seen anyone be so kind to everyone and still get things done.  Not sure I can convey the respect I had for his leadership style.  My heart goes out to his family and friends.  What a great man!

Praying for all the Marlow family. We grew up as church family and were close. We shared pride in all his accomplishments and service to our country....God bless, rest in peace , Doug


Another “War Eagle”....after our rookie year Doug and I had the brilliant plan to spend our first week of leave in Honolulu.   Took us 3 days to space  A to Hickman,  we checked in at Fort Derussy and set out to bronze up the two fairest skin kids around.   After sufficient pain, plan B was to rent a car, but at 18/19 years old that was not possible.  Doug offered we could rent a motorcycle for our island tour; idea terrified  me but Doug assured me he was an excellent rider.   Off we go, tank tops and shorts.   Back in the day, most of the 70 mile trip was 2 lane hi way, not that much traffic until we approached the Polynesian village.   Car in front of us decided late to turn and abruptly stopped for on coming traffic.  Doug got on the brakes, started to skid, I was envisioning sliding under the car in front, but Doug was able to  recover the slide skid to pass between car in front and the oncoming car.   I tapped out to Doug, couple minutes to start breathing again and off we went to finish our tour and week in paradise.   When we say we trust our life to our friends, I did.

     Your dad and I intertwined our Air Force careers on numerous occasions beginning with our “Doolie” year in 15th Squadron. He and I were roommates the entire year before I moved to 29th and he left for the 18th Squadron. We had a lot of “fun”, standing in a brace in the hallway of our dorm being “instructed” on the finer points of USAFA life and “traditions”. He was a great inspiration to me and helped immensely in enduring the daily rigors of cadet life. We still found time to climb the Flatiron behind the Academy to go fishing and pull an occasional prank - one I’ll never forget was when we secured a trash can to the flagpole one night. Lots of other crazy (now that I reflect) stunts too! I enjoyed his laid back southern humor as much as he enjoyed my north woods Yankee mannerisms.
     Although I saw him frequently during the years at USAFA because we both were engineering majors, we really reconnected after graduation as classmates in pilot training in Columbus. He was always a striver - I was pretty much a slacker, but it was always fun. And on assignment night, we were two of the four to receive our dream assignments of F-4 Phantoms. So - off to Fighter Lead-In together at the Rocket Mobile Village in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Followed by an intense year at George AFB and F-4 training. He headed off to Germany. I went to Valdosta, Georgia.
     The next time we met was when he was at Davis-Monthan flying F-16 Test and I was at Hill AFB doing similar work in the Viper. I remember working with him on a few developmental projects. Always the same Doug, easy going with his big southern drawl. I will miss him, but was blessed to call him friend.
     

Doug and I shared several classes together at USAFA.  He was a smart, thoughtful guy and the outpouring of comments and memories from his classmates following the announcement of his passing reflect his gracious way of dealing with everyone he met.  On behalf of the Class of 1977, please accept our condolences, thoughts and prayers for Doug and for you, his family.

Doug was one of the first people I met when I started working at MDA in 2009.  He was a quiet, kind gentleman who always had a smile on his face when I encountered him in our building.  He will be sorely missed by those of us who had the privilege to work with him.  For the family, my heartfelt condolence for your loss.

My deepest condolences to Doug's family. Doug was my table mate in T-38s at pilot training in Columbus, MS. I had not seen him since pilot training until a few years when I caught up with him at Nikki and Greg Pfeiffer's annual Christmas party.  I saw him again and talked to him at the post office of all places about a year ago--he was his usual smiling self. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him, especially his family and friends, but we'll always remember his  smile and easy going manner.

I had the privilege of sitting just down the hall from Doug for several years at Schriever. He always had a grin on his face, suggesting that he had it all figured out — and was happy to share his wisdom if you asked. Even when things turned the wrong direction, and the pressures of the urgent mission of the Missile Defense Agency weighed down on us all, Doug was a voice of calm confidence — reassuring us that we could figure this out too, as we had many times before. It was an honor to be a sometime wingman, more often spectator, as “Sting” worked his magic to deliver better data to warfighters more quickly. He will be greatly missed.

Our Dad passed away of a heart attack unexpectedly and we are beyond heartbroken. He was an amazing Dad and Granddad and we are devastated that this is reality. We will never forget his smile, his laugh, his love, his advice, his jokes, his strength and ‘never give up’ attitude. He was a retired Colonel in the Air Force, an F-16 fighter pilot, and was currently working for the Missile Defense Agency. He was a creator and inventor at heart, and he was so smart and has blessed the world with his ideas and vision. We had an amazing life with him, with so many adventures and his memory will live on in our hearts forever. We will post more regarding his service as we have to wait for things to get back to normal in order to do a proper military burial at the Air Force Academy like he wanted. In the meantime, please pray for everyone. If you have any special memories or just kind thoughts of him, I know our hearts would love to hear them as they are so heavy right now. Blessing to you all, and hold your loved ones tight always. ‘Off we go into the wild blue yonder. Climbing high into the sun...’ We love you Dad and miss you so much. Until we see you again in heaven. ❤️ Love, Becky, Jenny, and Kimmy

I echo Ramona's sentiments.  Having worked with Doug on/off for the last 13 years, I will remember him as a gentleman and a professional.  My deepest sympathies to the Marlowe family.  He will be missed.

Regards,

Joe

To Mr. Marlowe’s family,

I have worked  side by side daily with Doug for the last 13 years at Schriever AFB. He was a gracious and gentle man.  He was always so appreciative of all the support the whole team had when trying to accomplish the mission.  He will be greatly missed by me and I know everyone in our office. He was such a huge part of our team and a leader among us. I’m broken hearted, and my thoughts and prayers are with all his family!! 
Ramona

Please join us on August 6, 2020 to celebrate the life of James Douglas Marlowe. A memorial service will be held at 2 PM at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. (Address: 11025 Voyager Parkway.)  Please feel free to reach out to Kim (Marlowe) Jarrett with any questions  kim.m.jarrett@gmail.com or 303-957-7619.

OBITUARY

James Douglas Marlowe

9 September, 1955 – 3 April, 2020

Swan-Law Funeral Directors

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