John James "Jim" Dowd died peacefully on April 18 after a short illness. He had attained an age of 95. He is survived by his three children Robert (Maribeth Krupczak) of Albany, Kathleen Freese of Ballston Spa, Michael (Kellie) of Syracuse, his two grandchildren Keegan (Jack) Healy of Merritt Island FL and Katherine Dowd of Syracuse, along with a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and godchildren.

Jim was born January 24, 1931 in Oneida. He was raised as an only child in Cortland by his parents Louis and Loretta (Riley) Dowd. They summered at Little York Lake. After graduating from Cortland High School in June 1948, Jim attended Cortland State College 1948-1950. He enlisted in the US Air Force in January 1951 during the Korean Conflict, remaining on the home-front assigned to pre-NORAD Air Defense Command stations, and he was honorably discharged as an A1C in October 1954. He then attended Syracuse University, graduating in January 1957 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration.

He and Mary Catherine Farrell were married in Binghamton August 17, 1957 and remained a devoted couple for 54 years until her death in January 2012. The two of them made homes in Westvale and Colonie while Jim worked for the Traveler's Insurance Company in Syracuse and Albany from January 1957 through October 1988. They often summered at Tully Lake. An avid sports fan, Jim could be found at his children's and grandchildren's baseball, softball, track, dance, lacrosse, and volleyball events. He also closely followed Syracuse Chiefs baseball and SU Orange basketball and football.

After retirement in 1988, Jim and Mary settled on Onondaga Hill, where social gatherings around the back-yard swimming pool with their tight-knit group of friends from Westvale were common in the warmer months. They regularly wintered in Orlando, attending MLB Spring Training games. They visited each of the 50 states and DC, as well as Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and Europe.

Jim was a communicant of St. Patrick's Church on Tipperary Hill at 216 North Lowell Avenue in Syracuse where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on May 6. A calling hour will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to NY0541 - Wreaths for Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery < https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/185751/Overview/?relatedId=28472 >.

His children would like to thank Jordan Leet in the Onondaga County EISEP office, and Ronique Williams from CareGivers Home Care for their compassionate in-home assistance, and more recently the staff at Iroquois Skilled Nursing Community for their many kindnesses.