Richard "Rick" B. Dowling

Richard “Rick” Brian Dowling, age 69, passed away on August 7, 2025, after a brief illness, with his wife and son by his side. He was born on September 5, 1955, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Virginia Jane (Dubell) and Maurice Edward Dowling. Rick was a 1973 graduate of Moeller High School. He attended Thomas More College, where he met his wife, Christine Lee Fromhercz, and married on August 12, 1978. Rick was a tool & die maker, moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1976. He began his career designing and building metal stamping dies while completing his four-year apprenticeship for Anchor Template Die Company, being the youngest designer for the company. In 1989 he became a lead die maker at J. Hacker Company, where he instituted the use of grid analysis in the development of complex forms. From 2003 until his retirement in 2018 he worked for Anchor Die Technologies, building and troubleshooting large progressive dies.

Rick was extremely proud of and lived unselfishly for his family. He became a boy Scout Leader for Pack 462, at St. Gregory the Great Elementary School when his son was younger, while working fifty-five-hour work weeks. Rick volunteered his time at St. Gregory’s, working the Parish Festival each year and working at the weekly bingo game for many years. He enjoyed golfing, no matter if it was with his dad and brothers, his friends, or his work golf league. Rick enjoyed his monthly meetings with his investment club friends, for over fifteen years. He had a love for reading, enjoyed any genre of music, and growing vegetables in his garden to share with his family and friends. Most of all he loved camping and backpacking with his wife and son, all over the United States, and sailing his small Widgeon Sailboat on Sunny Lake and LaDue Reservoir.

Rick is preceded in death by his parent. Survivors include his wife of nearly forty-seven years, Christine; his son, Joseph Kevin Dowling; his siblings, Thomas (Barbara) Dowling, Kathleen (John) DeBrunner, Patrick (Christine) Dowling, Michael (Carol) Dowling and Elizabeth Dowling; brother-in-law to Cathleen Wilson, Stephen (Carole) Fromhercz and Elizabeth (Joseph) Virginia, as well as uncle Rick to fourteen, and great uncle Rick to seventeen. He was blessed to have a large loving family and many wonderful friends that will miss him.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, from 5:00PM until 7:00PM at the Gattozzi and Son Funeral Home, 12524 Chillicothe Road, Chesterland, Ohio, 44026. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM, on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at Saint Anselm Church, 12969 Chillicothe Road, Chesterland, Ohio, 44026. Interment of cremated remains will follow at All Souls Cemetery in Chardon, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org/givehope.com. Share a fond memory or condolence at www.gattozziandson.com