Jack Reginald McDowell

Jack Reginald McDowell, 89, of Columbus died at home Saturday, May 26, 2012. He was born April 8, 1923 in Julesburg, CO to Percy Ray and Olah Jane (Wilson) McDowell. He served in the US Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific before working as an aerospace engineer for Bell Aircraft, Martin Marietta and Bendix Aerospace where he worked with NASA on the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments. He then retired from Battelle Memorial Institute after working on the Space Shuttle. Jack was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Wilson and Robert McDowell. He is survived by his wife Patricia Ann (Phillips) McDowell; children Jodie Ann (McDowell) Fenton, Cathy Jeanne (McDowell) Smith and Susan Jane (McDowell) Tope (Ron); grandchildren Melissa Ann (Fenton) Brooks (Will), Lindsey Marie Fenton, Travis James Fenton, Tracie Michele Smith-Bayer (Jason), Mindy Faye (Tope) Charles (Earl), and Justin Wayne Tope; and several great-grandchildren. A funeral mass will be celebrated Wednesday, June 6 at 10:30am at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 6899 Smoky Row Road in Columbus. Father Justin Reis, Celebrant. Online condolences may be made to www.schoedinger.com. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to HomeReach Hospice or the Alzheimer’s Association.