Mary C. Dowe

Dr. Mary Catherine Dowe of Chapel Hill, Professor of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 21 years, died Monday at her home after a long illness. She was 77.
She is survived by her sister, Irene Diettrich, San Antonio, TX, her brothers Herbert F. Dowe, Montgomery, AL, and George Dowe, El Paso, TX, and 11 nieces and nephews. An active member of the Newman Catholic Student Center which she greatly loved, Mary enjoyed the performing arts and UNC basketball and football.
A memorial service will be at the Newman Catholic Student Center Parish in Chapel Hill at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4.
A resident of Chapel Hill since 1977, Mary spent her career providing medical care, training nurses, and mentoring the young. Having followed her older sister, Irene, into a nursing career, she pursued her calling with dedication, always devoting special attention to young nurses coming up in the program. She received numerous awards for her teaching, including the Tanner and Johnston award for excellence in undergraduate teaching in 1994; the Nicholas Salgo Outstanding Teacher Award in 1986; and the Secondary Care Graduate Teaching Award in 1989.
Mary earned her BSN and MN degrees in nursing from Emory University in Atlanta and an Ed.D in adult education from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Medical surgical nursing and training nurse educators were her areas of specialty. She served as a civilian Army nurse in Lanstuhl, Germany, She taught nursing at the Medical College of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Newman Catholic Student Center, 218 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2926