Stuart G. Dow

Stuart "Stu" Gordon Dow, of Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, died at home on June 1, 2023 after a three-year battle with cancer.
A lifelong Detroiter, Stu was born in Indian Village on November 23, 1940, son of Douglas and Mary Louise Dow. He attended Detroit schools and then followed in the tradition of his father and two brothers by attending The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, from 1954 to 1958.
Following Lawrenceville, Stu entered The University of Michigan where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, and was tapped for Sphinx, the Junior Men's Honorary Society.
After his time in Ann Arbor, Stu joined the Ford Motor Company finance staff. While there, he received the Bell Ringer award for his public service activities, including the founding of The Five O'Clock Forum, a popular civic awareness gathering featuring prominent guest speakers.
It was through The Forum that Stu connected with US Senator Robert Griffin who invited him to work for his re-election campaign. Senator Griffin recognized the value of Stu's skills as well as his wide network of relationships in Detroit, and even went to Ford to ask them to release Stu for a leave of absence to work for him.
After his work with Griffin, Stu moved on from Ford, and, in 1967, joined Merrill Lynch, where he enjoyed a 35-year career as a financial advisor.
Stu was a competitive squash player and a member of The Jesters, an international squash and racquet association, and a part of the squash community at the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC). At the DAC, he also served as a Director and enjoyed a lifetime of friendship and involvement. He was an avid bowler and swimmer, and his most recent passion was the community outreach committee, whose mission is to create pathways for the DAC community to contribute to the city of Detroit.
Stu took great pride in participating in all of these endeavors; however, his greatest pride and joy was his family.
Stu married Therese O'Sullivan in 1969 and they began their family with two daughters, Sarah and Laura. His devotion to Therese and the girls was immeasurable and overflowed to the lives of those around them. The door was always open for their friends and neighbors, and his "girl dad" care extended to the wider community as well.
As a devoted father, he found himself one day raising his hand to help with a girls' Neighborhood Club soccer team that needed a coach. No one could have imagined this would lead to a 45-year journey coaching girls' youth soccer in Grosse Pointe. In addition to his long tenure with the Neighborhood Club, Stu launched travel soccer for girls at a time when only the boys had this competitive opportunity. He then founded Pointe Girls Soccer Association to provide a breadth of experiences to girls of all ages and for several generations. Stu was still on the sidelines at the Neighborhood Club in April of 2023, bringing the total number of seasons to almost 100 for Coach Dow.
Beyond his contribution to the community through soccer, Stu was a beloved member of The Witenagemote, a men's literary society, as well as a dedicated director of several local organizations, including the Library Foundation, the Family Center, and Beyond Basics (a Detroit non-profit committed to increasing literacy for all children).
Stu was deeply motivated by his quiet faith in God-he always knew he was "blessed to be a blessing." This was demonstrated by his fierce love for family along with his deep care and respect for all people. There was always a twinkle in his eye, and he never met a stranger. He was quick to always learn not only people's names, but also all about their lives, their families, and maybe even the sport or instrument their children played! His example of other-centered living has left a great legacy.
Stu was predeceased by his wife, Therese, his brother, Bryden, and two sisters, Patricia Ashurkoff and Caroline Dykhouse.
He is survived by two daughters, Sarah Reimers (John) of Los Angeles and Laura Coon (Zac) of Plymouth, Michigan, nine grandchildren, and brother, Peter.
Visitation will take place Thursday June 15, from 5-7PM at Chas. Verheyden, Inc., 16300 Mack Ave, Grosse Pointe Park. A funeral service will be held at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church on Friday, June 16, at 2:00 PM and Stu will be interred in the Dow family plot at Elmwood Cemetery.
In honor of Stu's commitment to the children of Grosse Pointe and Detroit, memorial gifts can be sent to the Neighborhood Club (https://www.neighborhoodclub.net/donate), Beyond Basics (https://beyondbasics.org) or the charity of your choice.