William Peter "Pete" Dowling
Feb 19, 1934 - Feb 28, 2015
Posted by Janet Laubhan Flickinger

http://www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com/

William Peter “Pete” Dowling passed away peacefully at home in Moore on February 28, 2015, ending his 20-month journey with lung cancer and silencing his beloved laugh. He had celebrated his 81st birthday nine days earlier surrounded by family and friends.

Pete was born February 19, 1934 in Denver, Colorado.  His parents William Frederic Dowling and Dorothy Kathleen Lehigh were high school sweethearts from Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. When Pete was 2-years-old, the family moved to Ponca City where Pete attended school and graduated from Ponca City High School in 1952.  He swam on the Conoco Oil Company swim team and was elected the class president of both his junior and senior classes.  

He attended the University of Oklahoma on a U S Navy scholarship and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the US Marine Corps upon graduation.  He served 3 years active duty in the Tank Corps and 4 years in the Marine Corps reserves.

In 1959 he joined Liberty National Bank and Trust Co. in Oklahoma City as a management trainee and was a proud Liberty banker for 30 years.  While there he led Liberty’s Correspondent Banking Department for over 10 years, ran the Norman branch for 4 years, mentored numerous young bankers, and treasured his long-lasting relationships with bankers all over the state.  

In 1989 he became president of United Bank in Midwest City before he retired in 1996.  For the following four years, he supported his good friend, Lionel Bentley at Bentley Turf Farms in Norman.

Since 1997, he served on the Board of Directors of FNB Community Bank in Midwest City where he also mentored commercial loan officers.  He and his wife Linda truly enjoyed their inclusion in the FNB family.

Pete was a founding member of Norman’s Sooner Rotary Club in 1987 and helped the club celebrate its 25th year in 2013.  His many Rotary friends were especially dear to him.

He and Linda moved to Falconhead Country Club and Resort in 2000 where he served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of the Falconhead Christian Fellowship.  They returned to the Norman area, moving to Moore, in 2013.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Linda, of the home; sister, Patricia  Ann Kuri and her husband Fred, Pasadena, CA; son, William Garth Dowling  and his fiancé Corie Rybak, Irving, TX and her daughter, Tamara Kuehn, Jackson, WY ; daughter, Sylvia Kathleen Lessly and her husband, Kent,  Swarthmore, PA; Linda’s two daughters whom he loved as his own, Lisa Rae Barrett and her husband George, Nashville, TN and Laura Ann Cover, Cave Creek, AZ; grandsons Cameron Garth Lessly, Swarthmore, PA and William Ryan Barrett, Nashville, TN; granddaughters Kimberly Paige Dillard and her husband Marc, Oklahoma City, Kaleigh Samantha Barrett, Nashville, TN, and Riley Grace Cover, Cave Creek, AZ; and great-grandson Chase Raymond Dillard of Oklahoma City. He is also survived by his first wife and the mother of his children, Sue Dowling, of Ridley, PA.

He was preceded in death by his parents and granddaughter, Emma Ann Cover, Cave Creek, AZ.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at CrossPointe Church at the corner of State Highway 9 and 24th Ave.SE in Norman on Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:30 pm.

Private interment will be at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Norman at a later date.

Thank You For Your Service!