Deceased October 24, 2011

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In Memory

Arthur Laurence Dowling, age 92, died on Oct. 24, 2011, in Greenville, Del. He was born in 1919 in New York City and was the son of Laurence Dowling and Kathleen Tuttle Dowling. Arthur grew up in Spring Valley and Great Neck, N.Y. From an early age, he planned to attend Amherst, the alma mater of his uncle, Edward Gerry Tuttle, Class of 1920; his grandfather, Edward Gerry Tuttle, Class of 1885; and also his great-grandfather, William Gardner Tuttle, Class of 1846.

He remembered his freshman year at Amherst as one of the best years of his life. Art played freshman football and won a prestigious position on the college newspaper business staff. He also joined Psi U.

He remembered his sophomore year as being the most difficult of his life. His father had died when he was a child, and his mother died the summer following his freshman year. He returned to Amherst for his sophomore year accompanied by his 10-year-old brother who had become his ward. With his brother under his care, Art’s plans had changed abruptly. He could not live in the Genug House nor could he pursue football or the newspaper. Charlie Cadigan, an alumnus and the rector of the Episcopal Church in Amherst, helped Art find two rooms to rent with the Boyd family, who were parishioners of the church. In addition to working at the library for $4 a week, he also wrote and sold condensed versions of freshman history. He often made $10 a week with these reviews. The following year, with the help of a scholarship, Art enrolled his brother in boarding school at Eaglebrook. This enabled him to live in the Psi U house.

The summer of his sophomore year presented more challenges for Art. He had no home to return to. He enrolled his brother in a 12-week camp on Lake Champlain and booked passage to Europe out of Montreal on a German freighter. He went with his old friend and fraternity brother, Bo Meyer. Art had not passed his sight reading test in German at Amherst and thought a bicycle trip through Germany would help him learn the language. While they were bicycling through the Black Forest later in the summer, they learned that Germany was mobilizing for war. Their transportation home on a German ship was cancelled. Bo decided to go to Sweden. He arrived back in the United States six weeks later but not in time to return to Amherst. Nearly out of money, Art rode two days to Cologne, sold his bicycle and, as German soldiers streamed into the railroad station, bought a German railroad ticked to Rotterdam. With the help of the American consul, he joined the Dutch Seaman’s Union and got a “work for passage” job on the ship New Amsterdam. By the time Art picked up his brother at camp, he was the only child left. In his haste to get to Eaglebrook on time and then back to Amherst, Art side swiped a car on a slippery two lane road in Vermont, tipped over and slid 150 feet. No one was hurt, his damaged car was righted and he drove on to Massachusetts. The State of Vermont did not give Art a ticket but issued an order forbidding him to ever drive in the state of Vermont again.

The summer before his senior year, Art was selected for the reserve officers training program in the U.S. Navy. He completed the program the summer following graduation with plans to attend Harvard Business School in the fall. However, these plans changed when President Roosevelt ordered all military personnel to remain in service. Art was commissioned in September and served his country during World War II, the Korean War and remained in the naval reserves, retiring as a commander.

In 1945, Lieutenant Commander Arthur Dowling was awarded the Navy Cross by the President of the United States for “extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the rescue vessel U.S.S. PCE(R) in action against enemy forces during the amphibious assault and capture of Okinawa, Ryuku Islands, from April to June, 1945. Operating at an isolated and exposed station for a prolonged period of intensive combat, Lieutenant Commander (then Lieutenant) Dowling repeatedly brought his ship alongside burning and sinking ships and, although frequently forced to fight off enemy air attacks during these rescue operations, valiantly directed the rescue of numerous survivors of these stricken ships. His inspiring leadership, intrepid spirit and courageous devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Lieutenant Commander Dowling and the United States Naval Service.”

Art received an M.B.A. from NYU in 1956 and pursued his business career in New York City and Houston, Texas. He retired as vice president of marketing and public relations for the M.W. Kellogg Co., Pullman Kellogg and vice president of Kellogg International in London. For many years, Art served Amherst College as his class agent and won recognition late in his life for being the most consistent donor of his class.

Art was predeceased by his beloved wife of 60 years, Polly Russell Warner Dowling, who died in 2000, and also by his brother Edward. He is survived by two daughters, Cynthia Dowling Tanner of Duluth, Ga., and Louise Dowling Roselle of Wilmington, Del.; four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

John Jinishian ’41