Richard Francis Dowd

Richard Francis Dowd, beloved brother, father and grandfather, died in Sarasota, Florida on June 27, 2021. He was 92. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the younger of two sons born to Eugene Gregory Dowd and Josephine Marie Dowd (née Hansen).

In 1946, he served as an engineer in the U.S. Army Transportation Corp, sailing the still mine-infested English Channel after World War II. After his Honorable Discharge, he served in the U.S. Merchant Marine, traveling between New York and Central and South America and in the Gulf Coast. At age 19, while he was in the Panama Canal Zone, he contracted polio and, during quarantine there, formed the spiritual and personal philosophy that would inform the rest of his life — that, with God’s help, there would never be an obstacle that he could not overcome.

With years of recovery still ahead of him, he began his employment with United Airlines as a Radio Electric Mechanic, attending night school and earning his degree from St. John’s University. He subsequently became a Securities Analyst for Merrill Lynch and then Value Line and eventually set up his own investment-banking firm, R.F. Dowd & Company. During this time, he earned his MBA and Ph.D. from New York University. In 1963, he was appointed Professor of Economics at the City University of New York, a post he held until his retirement in 1992.

Richard was an enthusiastic researcher into the history of the Dowd (O’Dubhda in Irish) clan, traveling frequently to Ireland and participating in the gatherings of worldwide clan members there. In 2003, he was elected Taoiseach (Chieftain) and formally installed at Cahir Mor in Ireland.

He is survived by his brother, Eugene Dowd of Oak Park, California; his daughter, Susan Dowd of Fairfield, Connecticut; his son Brian Dowd (Nora) of Ridgewood, New Jersey; and four grandchildren — Haley, Erin, Macey, and Breanne — as well as four nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Mass, attended by the Knights of Columbus of which he was a member, was offered for him on July 6 at Incarnation Church in Sarasota, where he lived for the last 11 years. His funeral Mass took place on July 17 at St. Joseph Church in High Bridge, New Jersey. Interment is at Spruce Run Cemetery in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, his hometown for 40 years. Memorial contributions in Richard’s name may be made to St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota: stjo.org