William Doughlas Fowler

William Doughlas 'Doug' Fowler, age 73, passed away on July 17, 2025 in Austin, TX.

Doug was born on December 4, 1951 in West Point, NY to Claude and Marie Fowler. Along with his siblings, Claudine, Gary, and Carol, the family of 6 moved often due to their dad's military career. They lived in several places including Florida, San Antonio, and Denmark.

Doug received his Bachelors of Science in Physics from the University of Oklahoma. Post college, he served as an Air Defense Officer in the US Army for 4 years working with missiles and weapons programs. He deployed to Korea for one year during his service. After being discharged from the Army, he studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso where he obtained his Bachelors & Masters Degrees.

He met his wife Cyndy at the University of Oklahoma and they married December 25, 1974 in El Paso, TX. Doug and Cyndy relocated to the Dallas area where they raised their 2 daughters, Sarah and Natalie. Doug spent his career in the defense industry with Texas Instruments, followed by Raytheon Technologies until he retired in 2011. He was passionate about his work and had great friendships with his colleagues.

Raytheon relocated him to Tucson, AZ where he marveled at the sunsets and became a gardening enthusiast growing night-blooming cactus. After 10 years in Tucson, he entered the retirement phase of life. Doug and Cyndy relocated to Texas, living in Wylie before eventually settling in Austin to be close to his daughters and their families.

Doug had a zest for life and was always up for an adventure; whether it was a 2-week rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, cliff-rappelling in Costa Rica, or riding the Hulk rollercoaster at Universal Studios Florida. He always provided for the family by grilling massive amounts of food or helping with any home repair projects. His favorite Sunday activity was sitting at the edge of the pool playing squirt guns with the grandkids followed by a family dinner. A good week for Doug would include reading up about the latest space black hole, daily watering of his numerous plants, and cleaning out his neighborhood buddies in a poker game.

He had survived 3 bouts with head and neck cancer in 2008, 2017, and 2019. We are forever thankful to his medical team at MDAnderson who gifted us with time and memories.

Doug was preceded in death by his father Claude Fowler and his sister Claudine Travers.

He is survived by his wife, Cyndy Fowler; daughter Sarah Deluna & husband Ruben DeLuna; daughter Natalie Fowler & husband Josh Foo; grandchildren Elena Deluna, Oscar Deluna, & Aria Foo; mother, Marie Fowler; brother Gary Fowler; and sister Carol Young.

A memorial service will be held at Grace Covenant Church (9431 Jollyville Rd, Austin, TX 78759) on Saturday Aug. 16 at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Texas Laryngectomee Association (https://www.texastla.com/).