Elsie Scott McDowell

Elsie Corner Scott McDowell passed away peacefully on October 29, 2022. She is survived by her daughters, Laura Susan McGraw (Gregory) of Marietta, GA, Marcia Fay Yates (Ken) of Gainesville, VA, her son, Scott Lee McDowell (Dorothy) of Midlothian, VA; ten grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren and many wonderful nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Joyce (McDowell) Sloan of Austin, TX.

Elsie enjoyed a long and fulfilling life with her husband of 69 years, Roy Edward (“Mac”) McDowell, who preceded her in death in July 2022. Also preceding her were her father, Sidney L. Scott, Jr., her mother, Elsie Folensby Corner Scott, her daughter, Marianne (“Mimi”) McKinney, and her only sister, Jewell (“Judy”) Lockhart (Scott) Walker.

Elsie grew up in historic Fredericksburg Virginia as a proud Scott, one of the city’s founding families. She was proud but reserved talking about her colonial times ancestry which included 6th great grandfathers’, Notley Young, one of the three original owners of the land purchased under Thomas Jefferson to form Washington, D.C. and George Read, Esq. of Delaware, one of only three original signers of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Elsie earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Mary Washington College in 1950. Shortly after college Elsie began a whirlwind career as one of the early Miami based flight attendants for Eastern Airlines, founded by Fredericksburg native and family friend Sidney Shannon, Sr., and famed WWII pilot, Eddie Rickenbacker. Upon meeting a dapper 1st Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps at Quantico, and a short engagement, Elsie and her lifelong sweetheart, Mac, were married on December 16, 1952.

Elsie was a lifelong teacher and drama director in public schools in Dallas and Laredo, Texas and at West Springfield HS in Fairfax County, Virginia and the Virginia Beach City school systems. While she was an accomplished and popular English teacher, her passion poured into the many, drama, musical and memorable theatrical productions at West Springfield and well known around town. Several of her students went on to perform on Broadway, on television and in popular movies. As a teacher and mentor for over 40 years, Elsie touched and creatively influenced 1,000’s of young minds throughout her career.

Besides her family and love of the theatre, Elsie’s other passions were shopping and her love of dogs. She enjoyed all breeds but was most fond of her Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. At one point she had five Cavalier’s at the same time! But her other passion was getting time to spend with her daughters and grandchildren going shopping. Elsie, affectionately known to her family as “Nanny”, was always open to a quick road trip to Williamsburg or Washington to check out the latest in fashion and food, or just a stroll through the local consignment stores. And if a shopping spree ended with breaking out her ‘charge-a-card’ for lunch at Crab Louie’s, the Old Chickahominy House or ‘crab cracking Mondays’ with the girls, life was good!

Both Elsie and Mac were able to get in many memorable travel experiences around the country in retirement. From navigating the Pacific Coast Highway in California from SFO through Hollywood to San Diego, enjoying the top tourist spots in Austin and San Antonio, navigating the everglades in Florida or a relaxing ocean breeze in South Carolina or Savannah, Georgia. Elsie enjoyed all the experiences that came her way in her retirement, and nothing beat those regular Sunday afternoon drives with Mac swaying to music on the radio and looking for a new place to eat.

Elsie’s final resting place will be next to her husband, Mac, and her Scott family in the City Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at a later date.