Jim James L."" Dowling

Jim was born December 24, 1938 in Midland, Michigan to Martin Clement and Eva Irene (Lincoln) Dowling. Jim was the oldest of 14 children; nine brothers and four sisters. The younger kids in the family considered him their idol. He gave many a brother or sister a fresh start in life when they left home.

On June 1, 1968 he married Mary Ann Wolking in Cincinnati, Ohio and they made their home in Longmont, Colorado. They celebrated 48 years of love and adventure hours before Jim passed. Jim devoted his life to his immediate family, sacrificing his own career goals for their benefit. Together they built their own home and raised two awesome kids.

Jim and Mary Ann wandered the road less traveled. He was always planning the next adventure to some undiscovered place; he liked to blaze his own trail; and always had the uncanny ability to convince someone to follow him.

With one foot firmly planted in the mountains of Colorado and the other in the lakes, streams and beaches of Michigan, he ventured out. He drove to most every destination and camped in every conceivable way from backpacking to the trailer he called, “The Taj Mahal”. Together they explored most of the US, including Alaska and Hawaii, most of Canada, and the best of Mexico, Panama and Europe.

A Renaissance man with a thirst for knowledge, Jim never stopped learning and teaching others. He studied geophysics at Michigan Tech, chemistry at Delta College, electronics at US Army Signal School, psychology at Loyola University in LA and at Michigan State University where he graduated with an MS in 1967. He then went to graduate school at Xavier University in Cincinnati where he met his wife, Mary Ann. After they married and moved to Colorado he continued his education receiving a Masters in Wildlife Biology from CSU in 1976, and a Masters in Construction Management from CU in 1980. Over his career, he worked for IBM and the City of Boulder.

At his core, Jim was a wildlife biologist and avid outdoor adventurer who shared his love and knowledge of nature with others. He converted many an urbanite friend into an avid and active outdoor enthusiast. His foresight and perseverance was instrumental in gifting the Boulder Community with two wildlife preserves, Little Gaynor Lake and Button Rock Preserve.

Jim was a philosopher and writer; some called him “The Professor” for his discourse style. Jim lived a life authentic to his beliefs. He was driven to understand the meaning of life and relationships and he had the passion to develop and live a personal spirituality that embodied his beliefs. To develop his ideas, he loved to engage anyone he met in profound discussions and annually wrote essays (some would say, way too long) on these topics and sent them as Christmas letters to his community of thinkers.

Jim was larger than life. He left an indelible mark on the souls of thousands of people. Jim found God in nature and in people. He brought people together to celebrate life, share, and love one another. He had a dry wit and an uncanny ability to draw people out and touch their soul—because he found God in each of them. His life will continue in every person he touched.

A celebration of life will be held Tuesday, June 7th at 2:00 pm with a reception to follow at the Howe

Mortuary in Longmont.

Please share your thoughts, memories, photos and condolences with the family at Howe Mortuary’s

Book of Memories.