|
Joseph W. McDowell, much loved father, grandfather, uncle and companion, died March 12, 2010 at the age of 86. He is survived by his very special friend and the love of his life, Lydia Santillanez; his son Stephen; his daughter Linda and son Jeffery and wife, Iris; his grandson Joshua and wife, Kumi. Joe, Mac, or Jose as his close friends called him, grew up in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Drexel Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering. His schooling was interrupted when World War II broke out and he became a B-24 pilot in the 15th Air Force. He was shot down bombing the German oil fields in Ploesti, Romania and was a prisoner-of-war. When he returned to the States, he became a pilot instructor for many years. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1960 with the rank of Lt. Colonel. After working at Atlantic Refinery and International Latex Corporation in Delaware, Joe moved his family to Albuquerque in 1956, where he worked at Sandia National Laboratories. At Sandia, he worked in the Nuclear Weapons and Solar Programs until he retired in 1983. In retirement, his interest in natural history and the sciences led him to volunteer as a docent and preparatory of fossil specimens at the Museum of Natural History until 2005. He was the first volunteer recognized for 7000 hours of work at NMMNH, a record at the time. While there, he proudly worked almost 10 months to free a never-before-seen genus of Phytosaur from rock, as well as some of the Seismosaurus specimens. He loved his New Mexico and would travel and fish with his buddies, whenever he could. He also loved living in the Sandia Mountains as seen in the multitude of bird, tree, flower and sunset pictures he took. The family is grateful beyond words for him last residence, Beehive Village, where he was treated with utmost kindness, dignity, and caring. Thanks are due, also, to Hospice of New Mexico staff, who tended lovingly to his in his final months. In lieu of flowers please consider a memorial donation to support the New Mexico Museum of National History Foundation at PO Box 7010, Albuquerque, NM 87194. A Celebration of Joseph's life will be held at French-Lomas Chapel, Sunday, March 21st at 2:00 p.m. Please visit our online guestbook for Joseph at RememberTheirStory.com French 10500 Lomas Blvd NE (505) 275-3500
|
