Ann Louise Dawson

Ann Louise Dawson, age 91, of Wilmington NC, took her final breath with her family surrounding her on June 25, 2023. Born in Easton, PA to Florence and Albert Mattes, Ann trained as a radiation technologist at Thomas Jefferson University and as a primary school educator at Miami of Ohio University. At the age of 19, Ann met her dearly loved husband, Wallace H. Dawson III (Bo), at a USO dance at Fort Dix, NJ. Their first dance spurred a whirlwind romance that took them around the world as she supported Bo in his military career, including assignments in Okinawa, Japan, Fort Bragg, NC, Bamberg, Germany, Augsburg, Germany, Aberdeen, MD, Dayton, OH, Fort Leavenworth, KS, Giessen, Germany, Munich Germany, Manheim, Germany, Izmir, Turkey, Alexandria, VA, Oahu, HI, and Selfridge Airforce Base, MI. Their travels didn’t stop with military retirement; they continued to traverse the globe, living in Manhattan Beach, CA, Palm Springs, CA, Oak Island NC, and finally Wilmington, NC.

An adventurer with a teacher’s soul, our mother imbued in her five children–born in close succession– a love of culture and travel as she moved her growing family across the globe. Whether in drab military quarters, or overlooking the deep blue-green Aegean Sea, she created a loving home.

Her most meaningful lessons to her children were those of the heart: she modeled humbleness, dependability, patience, gratitude, and personal sacrifice for the greater good. She taught us to see the best in others, to appreciate nature’s beauty, to muster the courage to acquiesce in the face of things beyond our control. She modeled the value of family, and most of all, the unreserved love of a mother.

Throughout her 91 years she was grateful for the love of her family and the full life she was blessed with. However, her life was not without fear or sorrow: fear, as she bravely awaited the return of her husband from three battlefield tours, shielding her young children from the anguish of war by keeping their lives as normal as possible; deep sorrow, with the loss of her cherished first-born daughter, Suzanne, and two grandchildren.

Our mother was dearly loved by her family, maintaining close personal relationships with all. She leaves behind her husband, Col. Wallace H Dawson III (Bo) of Wilmington, NC, her four children, Mary Lynn Bowlin of Huntington Beach, CA, Cathaleen (Tom) Ley of West End, NC, Jenine (Rich) Flexner of Oak Island, NC, and Wallace (Hana) Dawson IV of Cary, NC, and her dearly loved dog, Bubba. She also leaves behind eleven grandchildren: Jessica (Omar) Rawi, Kyle (Sasha) Bowlin, Reece (Lauren) Flexner, Keaton Ley, Brenden Dawson, Tyler (Emily) Bowlin, Jillian (Lee) Flexner, Lane Flexner, Anna Dawson-Pitts, Jarrett Ley, and Ali (Chad) Wherry; and nine great-grandchildren. She is grieved as well by her sisters Helene (Ray) Molina and Betty Moffett, and her sister-in-law Sarah McCleod, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. She is joined in heaven by her parents, beloved daughter, Suzanne Dawson, and her grandchildren Liza Dawson-Pitts and Zachery Dawson-Pitts.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the SPCA in honor of her love of dogs. A family remembrance service will be held at Carolina Bay in the near future.