CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF

George Henry Dowling

1945 - 2022

A Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, April 2, 2022

at 1 PM for a Casual Lunch
Second District Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad
45245 Drayden Rd, Valley Lee, MD 20692
One year, George Dowling and his friends had lined up for the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade when he heard
a friendly voice call from one of the groups marching. The County Cork brigade was heading down the
parade route, and, next thing you knew, George was marching with them.

"We went to see the parade, and George got pulled into the parade," recalled his sister-in-law Rachel
Hendrickson.

The anecdote captured George perfectly. He was the guy who never knew a stranger, who always called to
check on loved ones, who helped anyone who needed it. The guy who made any gathering better - whether
it was one of New York's most famous events or a family holiday - just by being there.

"He was a friend to all - the lady who made the fried chicken at the convenience store, the guys at the gas
station, the nurses in the hospital," Hendrickson said. "People knew him."

George Henry Dowling, born March 14, 1945, in Queens, died February 1 in Washington, DC, due to heart
failure. He was surrounded by his two children and a granddaughter.

The son of Mary McMullan and Waldron Dowling, George was industrious from a young age.

"He worked in the boatyard as a kid. That's how I first met him," said Carolyn Dowling, another sister-in-
law. "He was the handiest guy ever. He always had a rag in his pocket." "He worked until age 18 and then
went into the Marine Corps," her husband, Jimmy Dowling, said.

When George returned home in his dress blues, the whole family gasped in awe.

"Everyone was so proud of him," Carolyn Dowling said. "George was a good example of how far you could
go." He enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 1963 and was honorably discharged in 1969.

George later managed restaurants in the Kennedy Center, Grand Central Station, Times Square and even
ran his own cafe for a time. As a craftsman with Miller Druck for over twenty years, he specialized in
granite, marble, and stonework. He was involved in the extensive renovations of Grand Central and the
Statue of Liberty.

Not only did George excel professionally, but he also helped others succeed.

"He got me a job with Amtrak. He also got me a job delivering bread for a bread company. Those were all
good jobs back in the day," Jimmy Dowling recalled. "He was a big thing to me. My father died when I was
12, and I had five younger brothers. George was like a father figure to me."

"He was never afraid to tell Jimmy he was doing something stupid," Carolyn mused. When the Dowlings
opened a bar in Far Rockaway, George was among their regular visitors and would occasionally help out in
the kitchen.

Most of all, George was devoted to his family. His granddaughter, Charlotte Huck, cherishes memories of
their early-morning tradition during her visits to his Maryland farm.

"In the mornings, Papa and I would drive to the nearby gas station, where I would get a slushie, and he
would get a black coffee. He knew how much I loved horses, so we would go out and get apples and carrots
and feed some horses at a nearby farm," she said. "Going to get slushies is how I learned to drive. My
grandfather let me drive his truck when I was 14, but I started driving tractors the second I could walk."

As a very young child, Charlotte took measures to ensure their routine never got off track.

"We would go and get coffee super early, and when I was little, I would wake up and sleep outside his
door, so he never left me because I wanted to be with him," she said.

George enjoyed gardening and collecting old tractors and, putting his vast talents to work, kitted out his
cars with seats for his dogs.

"He loved his dogs. The last two dogs he rescued were labrador retrievers," Hendrickson said. "He always
said they rescued him."
 ORDER OF SERVICE FOR

George Dowling
WELCOME Rachel Hendrickson

YOU CAN SHED TEARS

Charlotte Huck
THAT HE IS GONE
MEMORIES OF GEORGE Rachel Hendrickson

Everyone Shares Memories

IRISH BLESSING Lynn-Anne Dowling Huck

CLOSING REMARKS Rachel Hendrickson

FAMILY IN
Jimmy Dowling
ATTENDANCE
Carolyn Dowling

Rob Hendrickson

Smith Cobb

Alexandra Cobb

Chris & Chuck Young

Predeceased by his parents and seven siblings, Dowling is survived by his

daughter, Lynn-Anne Huck, and her daughter Charlotte Greeley Huck of Atlanta,
his son and daughter-in-law Frank and Annabella Dowling, and their children,
Savannah Rose, Gina Pearl, and George Vedder of London, and his five siblings.

Instead of flowers, the family has requested donations to the T.J. Martell
Foundation in honor of his physician, Dr. Mitchell C. Benson of Columbia
University Irving Medical Center.
Visit: https://donate.tjmartell.org/InMemoryofGeorgeDowling
 George Dowling
YOU CAN SHED TEARS THAT HE IS GONE
You can shed tears that he is gone,
Or you can smile because he lived,
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see him

Or you can be full of the love that you shared,
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember him and only that he is gone

Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on,
You can cry and close your mind be empty and turn your
back,
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes,
love and go on.
-David Harkins

IRISH BLESSING
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sunshine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.