Susan Bromley Dowd of Verona, formerly of Montclair, died at home on June 3, 2022, surrounded by family. She was 82.
Born in Orange, Mrs. Dowd grew up in Glen Ridge and Montclair and also lived in London, England, and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, among other places, prior to moving to Verona in 2011.
She married in 1961, graduated from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, in 1962 and spent her life as a loving wife and mother for her family.
In 1966 Mrs. Dowd wrote a gentle moral children’s tale (“Peter and His Prayers”) that was reportedly a bestseller at Piggly Wiggly supermarkets.
She was an early founder and volunteer at the Senior Care & Activities Center in Montclair and also served as the development director for Christ Our King – Stella Maris School in Mount Pleasant.
She loved to talk on the phone with anyone and deliver utility bill payments personally versus through the mail or, God forbid, online. She never met a scarf or bracelet she didn’t like. She loved dogs.
Mrs. Dowd is survived by her children, Elizabeth Dowd Sauntry, John Marshall Dowd III (Molli) and Patricia “Kiki” Dowd Walker (Roger Crandall); her sister, Nancy Burke (Gregory), and her grandchildren, Jack Walker, George Walker, Lucy Walker, Harry Walker, Samantha Dowd and Patricia Dowd.
She was predeceased by her husband, John Marshall Dowd Jr.
A funeral Mass was said in St. Cassian’s Church, Upper Montclair, on Wednesday, June 8.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Alzheimer’s New Jersey, attn: Development Dept., 425 Eagle Rock Ave., Suite 203, Roseland, NJ 07068 or the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, curealz.org/giving/donate, would be appreciated.
Arrangements were by Prout Funeral Home, Verona.