Col. Loyd R. Dowd USA (Ret.)

TYLER -- Services for Col. Loyd R. Dowd, U.S. Army, ret., are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 8, 2006, at Glenwood United Methodist Church, 620 W. Glenwood Blvd., Tyler, Texas, with Dr. Tom Haygood officiating. Burial will be in the Noonday Cemetery, five miles north of Hallsville, under the direction of Lloyd James Funeral Home. Col. Dowd passed away Wednesday, April 5, 2006, in Dallas. He was born October 25, 1921, in Texarkana, Arkansas, to the late Clifford R. and Virgie B. Dowd. Col. Dowd, with his family, moved when he was a small child to Sulphur Springs, where he graduated from high school. Early on, he became a faithful member of First Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs. He entered college in the fall of 1940 at East Texas State Teachers College and became active with a student military unit. He was called to active duty with the armed forces in May 1942, and was sent to Fort Knox, Ky. for basic training. In July of 1943, he was married to Miss Roy Frances Dickard of Hallsville, whom he had met while in college. He entered Officers Candidate School in the spring of 1944, graduated in the fall of that year as a second lieutenant, and was sent to Camp Fannin of Tyler, where he served until he was ordered to the Pacific in the summer of 1945. He returned in the autumn of 1946. At this time, Dowd returned to East Texas University to continue other higher education. Upon graduation with a masters of science degree, he was employed with Mobil Oil Corp. in Lovington, N.M. Upon returning in 1950 to Hawkins, he was associated with his father in the independent telephone business, later purchasing and operating the Big Sandy Telephone company in Big Sandy. Here, the Dowds reared there three sons, finally moving back to Hawkins after selling the telephone company in 1962. Col. Dowd transferred to the Army National Guard, where he served until his retirement. He is survived by his beloved family, including his wife of 62 years, Dr. Roy Frances Dickard Dowd of Tyler; his step-mother, Birdie B. Dowd of Tyler; sons, Dr. Loyd D. Dowd and wife, Cindy, of Tyler, Judge Steven M. Dowd and wife, Pamela, of Austin, and Robert E. Dowd and wife, Hollis Anne, of Los Angeles, Calif.; brother, Milton Dowd and wife, Ruth, of Austin; nephew, Rodney Dowd and wife, Pam, of Marshall; two granddaughters, Dr. Anna Lisa Jones and husband, Thomas E. Jones, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Ms. Lydia C. Dowd of Austin; one grandson, Zachary A. Dowd; and two great-grandchildren, Gabriel S. Dowd and Caroline E. Jones. Pallbearers will be Loyd D. Dowd, Steven Dowd, Robert Dowd, Thomas Jones, Gus Tostado, and Rodney Dowd.