JOHN R. O'DOWD

     John Richard “Dick” O’Dowd, 92, of Worcester, died Sunday, December 4, 2016 at the UMass-Memorial Medical Center after a short illness.

Richard leaves his wife of 69 years, Mary I. (Mulcahy) O’Dowd; three daughters, Maureen F. Bisnette and her husband David J. Bisnette of Worcester, Nancy A. Benson and her husband Gerald B. Benson of Bonita Springs, Fla., and Joanne M. O’Dowd of Worcester; a sister Catherine O’Dowd of Fitchburg; five grandchildren, Nicole Carroll, Kristen Wilson, Jennifer Glynn, Kevin Benson and Timothy Prue; seven great-grandchildren, Jack, Nina, Maranda, Maura, Justin, Kyleigh and Frank; and many nieces and nephews.

Richard was predeceased by his brother William O’Dowd Jr., and his sisters Lillian Kittredge and Mary Jeffery.

Richard was born in Fitchburg, son of William J. and Alfrieda (Saltus) O’Dowd. He lived in Fitchburg until moving to Worcester in 1961.

Days after his 1942 graduation from St. Bernard’s High School in Fitchburg, Richard enlisted in the U.S Navy. He was a gunner’s mate aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer in the North Atlantic and Scandinavian Sea during World War II, protecting Allied forces, merchant marine ships and supply routes from England to the Murmansk region of Russia.

After the war, Richard returned to Fitchburg to work with his father at Motor Parts, Inc., a family automotive supplies company. In 1961, he joined General Automotive, a parts supply business in Worcester, where he worked until his retirement in 1989.

Dick was an avid golfer and former member of Oak Hill Country Club in Fitchburg. He was a longtime member of the Green Hill Golf Club where he was a fixture for more than fifty years, playing golf as recently as last month. For years, he organized an annual golf trip for his Green Hill friends to Santee, South Carolina.

Dick was a Disabled American Veteran and a former member of the Greendale Retired Men’s Club and the Knights of Columbus.

Dick was a skilled woodworker and a reliable Mr. Fix-It for his family and friends. He was a good and humble man always devoted to his family.

There will be a funeral service on Friday, December 9, at 11 a.m. in the Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester. There are no calling hours.

Memorial donations are suggested to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.