Dorothy Arlene Dowd, of Elk Rapids, Michigan, age 93, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, August 9, 2024. Dorothy was born September 25, 1930, to parents Harry (Hartzell) and Dessie (Schmidtendorff) in Elkhart, Indiana. She was the youngest of two girls. Her sister was named Ruth. She was the last surviving member of her family. She married James O. Dowd on May 9, 1952. They were married for 58 years. They did not have any children but did have six beagles over a period of sixty-five years. Dorothy lavishly loved each.

Dorothy was one of two beauticians in the village when she stared at age eighteen. She became a life-long friend with many women in the area and often did hair for three generations from the same family. She was not afraid of work and worked nearly sixty hours a week for forty-seven years. In her free time, she loved gardening, sewing, reading, crocheting, and feeding birds, squirrels and rabbits at "Dorthy's Diner" on the patio in the back yard. She crocheted many quilts for family and friends. She also loved to travel. Many years ago, she enjoyed riding with her husband on their motorcycle. Dorothy loved to read and has read many thousands of books. Her favorites were murder mysteries. She also read hundreds of comic books. She had a little library in her beauty shop for her customers. There were books to read while under the hair dryer, or to be taken home and returned at their next appointment. More than anything else she loved the Lord and expressed that love in many ways through her church, the First Presbyterian Church of Elk Rapids. She was a Sunday school teacher for many years, ran the mimeograph machine doing the bulletins when there were about forty church members. She with Phyllis Staley annually put up and took down the Christmas tree. Dorothy helped with dinners and many other church activities. She was in the choir for over seventy years. In her earlier years with her beautiful voice, she sang many solos, often at funerals. As a business woman, she realized that her church, while the house of the Lord, had to pay the bills and she was very supportive.

Dorothy has three nephews—Howard Harvey, Eugene Harvey (Debra), and Lenard Harvey. She also has nine great nephews and nieces.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM, Friday, August 16, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church of Elk Rapids with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM.  A luncheon will follow at the church and a committal service will take place at 1:30 PM at Yuba Cemetery in Acme.

Dorothy supported local businesses, and flowers would be welcomed at her service or perhaps a donation to the Traverse City Humane Society—the temporary home of at least three of her charges before they were blessed to be adopted by James and her.

The family would like to thank the many doctors, nurses and staff for their treatment of her four different cancers over the last forty years. We are especially thankful to those at Cowell Cancer Center for their loving care of her during nearly half of her nineteen years of CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Lakemia).

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, Covell-Elk Rapids Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

www.beaconfh.com