Judith Ann Donovan Dowd

Judge Judith Donovan Dowd of Washington, DC, died on September 22, 2016. Judge Dowd was born October 1, 1940, in Erie, PA to Dr. John E. and Alice (O'Brien) Donovan. A graduate of the Villa Maria Academy in Erie, she went on to receive her B.A. degree from Dunbarton College in Washington, DC, spending her junior year at the University of London, London School of Economics. She received her J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law School. Upon graduating, she was employed as an attorney in the US Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.

She then became an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia where her last position was Chief of the Special Litigation Division. She then began specializing in labor law and was awarded a LL.M in labor law from George Washington University School of Law. She went on to become a Supervising Attorney in the Appellate Court Division of the National Labor Relations Board. After her appointment as an Administrative Law Judge, Judge Dowd served at the Social Security Administration, the US Postal Service, and the NLRB. Her last appointment was to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission where she served until her retirement in May 2015. Judge Dowd was a member of the Virginia Bar, the DC Bar, as well as the Federal Energy Bar and the Association of Women Judges. Judge Dowd is predeceased by her husband Michael J. Dowd, a Washington, DC native and well known attorney.

She is survived by her sisters Joan (Owen) Murray of Sarasota, FL, and Patricia Stahr of Oakton, VA, and many well-loved nieces and nephews as well as grand nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, October 20, at 10:30am at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, on 36th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007.

Arrangements under the direction of Joseph Gawler's Sons LLC, Washington, DC.