Obituaries

Jack McCoy Dowdy

Photo of Jack McCoy Dowdy
Mr. Jack McCoy Dowdy, 82, of Little Rock, Arkansas peacefully was called home and entered into the presence of our Lord on Tuesday, January 15. A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, January 18 at 2 p.m. at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home. Jack was born on January 29, 1930 in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Alice and James Dowdy. He grew up in Tyler (Swan), Texas and graduated from John Tyler High School. He enlisted and served in the United States Army in 1951 during the Korean War and then served in the Army Reserves. He was married to Shirley Wrye for 32 years. They moved to Austin, Texas where he attended The University of Texas, graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He moved to Dallas and worked for Chance Vaught and Mobil Oil, transferring with Mobil to Little Rock, Arkansas. In Little Rock he started his own business as a custom home builder. He designed and built numerous homes in Leawood, Pleasant Valley and through-out west Little Rock from 1960-1980. His homes were featured in the GE Parade of Homes tour. Jack was a member of the Arkansas Homebuilders Association. He will be remembered for providing high quality family homes with many custom features and abundant storage space. He loved homebuilding so much that after his retirement he would still dream of designing and building homes. For many years Jack was a member of the Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church and served as a Deacon in the 1960-1970's. He was a devoted father and his family recalls a life dedicated to hard work, whether working in the yard or on the job site. He will also be remembered for making a candy during the holidays called Divinity which no one has been able to duplicate and for his love of cars. Jack is survived by his daughter Cathy Dowdy Corse and her husband Richard Corse, his son, Michael Z. Forell and his wife Penny Forell and five grandchildren, Neil Forell, Colby Forell, Hailey Forell, Andrew Corse and Winston Corse. Jack also leaves behind a devoted friend Paul Decoux. Arrangements are by Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, (501) 224-8300. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal

Published January 18, 2013

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