Philip Leon “Skip” Dowden

Philip Leon (“Skip”) Dowden, 85, of Merriam, Kansas, died peacefully on Sunday morning, March 15, 2009.

Skip was born November 8, 1923, in Brawley, California to Frank and Evelyn Dowden. When he was 15, the family moved to Troy, Kansas, where he finished high school and met his future wife, Dorothy. He entered the Army in 1944, serving in Europe with the field artillery. He and Dorothy were married July 7, 1946. They moved to Shawnee in 1951 and spent the next 55 years in the Shawnee-Merriam area. Skip was a lifetime member of the Union of Operating Engineers, operating and maintaining large equipment for Garney Construction Company, among others.

He was also something of an inventor and tinkerer, a lover of science and technology, a watcher of weather and a photographer, with an endless curiosity about the world and people around him. He was a good and generous neighbor and friend. He shared his love of nature and the outdoors through many great camping trips with his family and other hangers-on. After retirement, he and Dorothy enjoyed many road trips together to all corners of the country. He taught his children how to think for themselves, how to laugh, and how to fix things.

Survivors include two sons and a daughter, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The family requests no flowers. Those who wish to do something in remembrance may donate to City Union Mission or Harvesters.

Memorial Service

A memorial service for Skip will be held at Shawnee United Methodist Church on Thursday, May 21, 2009, at 10 a.m., when the whole family can be together to remember him.