Obituaries

December 1, 1926 to December 28, 2012

WINAMAC - Dennis D. Dowling, 86, of Winamac, passed away at 4:18 p.m., Friday, Dec. 28, at Pulaski Health Care Center, Winamac.

He was born Dec. 1, 1926 to the late James and Olga Dowling in Adrian, MI. He married Irene Bixler on Sept. 28, 1946 in Napoleon, OH. She passed away on Oct. 5, 2011.

He is survived by his sons; Jim (Edna) Dowling, Hopkinsville, KY, and Gerald (Carol) Dowling, Winamac; and his daughters; Denise (Yolanda Baldwin) Dowling, North Aurora, IL, and Deelight (Richard) Murphy, Chicago. Also surviving are his grandchildren Jeni Marcinkiewicz, Stacey (Jeremy) Beckner, and Laura (Matt) Mullins; his great grandchildren Maggie Marcinkiewicz, Leo Marcinkiewicz, and Jayden Beckner; and his sisters; Jennie (Robert) Gentz, Blissfield, MI, and Margery Neuroth, Blissfield, MI.

He was preceded in death by his grandsons Jeremy Michael Dowling and Larry E. Wilcox; and his siblings; Ralph B. Nolan, Yvonne A. Ganitopoulos, and Dorothea M. Smith.

The Dowlings lived many places, including Michigan, New York, Illinois, and Kentucky but for many years they called Winamac home. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, having served as a radioman with the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska and with the U.S. Navy in the Panama Canal Zone. He had been an amateur radio operator having held the call signs W8IRV and W9ESW among others. He was a member of the American Amateur Radio League and the Adrian Amateur Radio Club. Mr. Dowling retired in 1990 from Plymouth Tube Co. where he worked as an engineer for 28 years. He enjoyed his community and always learning something new.

Visitation will be from 10 to11 a.m., Saturday at Frain Mortuary, Winamac. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. (Saturday, Jan. 5), at the funeral home. Burial will take place at a later date in Lyons Cemetery, Lyons, OH.

Memorial donations may be given to the Pulaski Health Care Center, Pulaski County Human Services Von Tobel Center, or Kingdom Kids Daycare.