Joseph C Dowell Jr was born on May 10th, 1947 to Joseph C Dowell Sr. and Lonacy M Dowell, and was raised with his nine brothers and sisters in Toledo, Ohio. He regularly attended Love Baptist Church where he was Baptized as a child.

He was a graduate of Spencer Sharper High School in 1966 and immediately felt the call to serve in the United States Army. He spent twenty years in the service in Air Defense Artillery and served in deployments to Korea and Germany. He retired from the Army at Fort Bliss Army Base in 1986, holding the rank of Sergeant First Class, and received an Honorable Discharge.

After his time in the Army he served as a Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in El Paso, Texas for fifteen years. In 2006, he accomplished his goal of retiring permanently and moved to Oak Grove, Kentucky where he had been previously stationed in the Army.

Shortly after his retirement, he tragically became a victim of a stroke that left him without speech and with physical impairments. In the following years, he spent his time working to recover with his brothers and sisters in Toledo, Ohio and his children in Killeen, Texas. As his condition declined, he was moved to the VA Veterans Home in Sandusky, Ohio where he was taken, in peace, to be with our Lord.

He is preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Lonacy Dowell; and his brothers John Dowell and Lawrence Dowell. He is survived by his brothers Henry Dowell (Deborah) of North Carolina and Larry Dowell; his sisters Janice Foster, Lonacy Maddox, Sadie Anderson, Frances Adams, and Deborah Foster; his children Denise Dowell, Yvonne Johns (Terrance Sr.), Joseph C Dowell III, Luciana Batts, and Christian Dowell (Vanessa); thirteen grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, and an abundance of family and life-long friends.

He will be remembered for his love and compassion for his family, his enthusiasm for serving others, and his generosity. He sought to set a positive example for his family and encouraged us to be diligent in our lives and to live with integrity. He is loved and admired by his family and his friends and will be sorely missed until we reunite with him in Heaven.