Roy Edward McDowell

Roy Edward (“Mac”) McDowell passed away peacefully on July 13, 2022. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Elsie Scott McDowell; his daughters, Laura Susan McGraw (Gregory) of Marietta, GA, Marcia Yates (Ken) of Gainesville, VA, his son, Scott Lee McDowell (Dorothy) of Midlothian, VA; ten grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Joyce (McDowell) Sloan of Austin, TX.

He was preceded in death by his father, Fred L. McDowell, Sr., his mother Frances (Caswell) McDowell, his daughter, Marianne (“Mimi”) McKinney, his brother, Fred L. McDowell, Jr., and his sister, Fay (McDowell) Crannel.

Roy earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from North Texas State University in Denton, TX in 1950. He was a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps with a Honorable Discharge on May 23, 1952 at USMC, Quantico, VA.

Roy married his lifelong sweetheart, Elsie, on December 16, 1952. Following his discharge from the Marines and a short stint in the private sector at Ford Motor Company in Dallas, Roy started a long and distinguished career with the United States government as a Personnel Officer in the Department of Navy lasting over 35 years. Roy had multiple assignments in Washington DC, Norfolk, VA and Bermuda.

Besides his family and love of the outdoors, Roy had a lifelong passion around golf. Whether he played it, watched it, read about it, or taught it, he was an avid disciple of the game. Roy was the one who always organized the weekend golf groups and could remember everyone’s score and strokes by hole when the games were over. Getting to play golf with his son, Scott, was a joy to last a lifetime. And another passion of Roy’s was anything having to do with Texas, his home state. Although he spent much of his adult life in Virginia, there was no lack of Dallas Cowboys banners and hats around the house or worn by his grandchildren. On one sightseeing trip back to the Texas State Capital, Austin, Roy could barely hold back his tears watching the state historical movie and listening to “Boogie Back to Texas” play in the background.

After retiring from the government, Roy enjoyed playing outdoors with all of his grandchildren whenever he could including hours out at the playground, backyard pools, golf courses or at the beach. There was a nickname for every grandchild as a term of endearment and they all knew who they were when he called them. He was a fanatic about morning exercises and walks to stay in shape and only one of his grandsons was ever able to beat him in the famed leg wrestling! Another passion of Roy’s was listening to 50’s oldies music where he had the station permanently set in his car on his many Sunday drives with Elsie.

Roy’s remains will be interred in the City Cemetery in Fredericksburg, VA, at a later date.