Posted by Allison Smith Childers on September 8, 2022:

Richard Patrick Dowell, 1934-2022 Richard Patrick Dowell, a long time Old Town Alexandria, VA, resident, died in Denver, Colorado, June 24, 2022. He was born in Washington, D.C., April 21, 1934, the only child of Mary Barbara McHenry Dowell and Lt. Col. Cassius McClellan Dowell, J.A.G. Richard's military career was a continuation of his family's long tradition of military service, which can be traced to the Revolutionary War. He graduated from West Point in 1956. He also earned a Masters degree from Stanford University in 1961 and pursued further graduate work at Stanford and American University. He was a 1975 graduate of The National War College and also served there as an instructor. His military career began in 1956 as Second in Command Lieutenant, United States Air Force and advanced through grades to Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force. During the Viet Nam War, he was a B-52 pilot based in Guam and executing missions over North Viet Nam. He was awarded the Decorated Bronze star, Air Medal with 13 oak leaf clusters, and Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster. He retired from the Air Force in 1976. For the subsequent 20 years he served in executive positions at several Department of Defense contracting firms, including the Business Development Manager Corporation, Analytic Services Inc., and MITRE Corporation. He was also President and Chief Executive Officer of the Software Valley Corporation, Morgantown, West Virginia, and chairman and president of the Software Valley Foundation. In later years, he was an adjunct instructor at The Citadel and ran his own software consulting company. He was predeceased by his second wife, Sandra S. Dowell. He is survived by his three sons, Christopher, Patrick, and Richard and by his step-children, Ethan Smith and Allison Smith Childers. He will be interred at West Point in November 2022.

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