Grace Marie McDowell

MCDOWELL, Grace Marie, age 76, of Kettering, passed to a higher plane of existence Wednesday January 15, 2025, surrounded by family, peace, love and light. 

Born August 23, 1948, to Thomas and Lillian (Graven) Jones, Grace attended Belmont High School, and spent the majority of her professional life working for Montgomery County, as a Dispatcher for the Sheriff’s Office and later as a Secretary for the Common Pleas Court. It was as a dispatcher that Grace met and fell in love with a Deputy, Grigg McDowell. They were married in 1972 and celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary on August 1, 2024. Grace loved to travel with her family, and Alaska was her favorite place to visit. 

She was a talented artist who loved to paint and create and looked forward to her weekly visits to We Care Arts. Grace could spend hours playing Go Fish and Dominos with her daughters Gina and Susan, laughing and jokingly accusing each other of cheating. She was an avid reader and looked forward to the release of every new Stephen King book. Watching one of her favorite sitcoms every evening with her husband brought her happiness and contentment. She loved to learn, and dabbled in the world of the metaphysics, rocks and crystals, and the Native American healing art of Reiki. Grace volunteered her free time with the Blue Star Mothers, as well as a Native American Organization through the University of Dayton, which led her to take a solo trip to South Dakota bringing supplies and food to a Reservation. Grace appreciated the beauty in the world and saw the good in every person she met. She embodied the very definition of the words sweet, generous, kind. She was loved to the moon and the stars and back by her family and will be deeply missed. 

She is preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Thomas and Ronald Paul Jones; sister-in-law Diana; and beloved family pets DC and Deion. Left to cherish her memory are her loving husband of 53 years, Grigg McDowell; daughters Gina and Susan McDowell; sister-in-law Robin; brothers-in-law Stephen and Cliff (Sonia); treasured family friends Ashley and Uwe Knebelsberger; numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins; and treasured friends. 

Family will greet friends Saturday, January 25 from 12:00pm-3:00pm at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering. Memorial contributions may be made in Grace’s name to We Care Arts, 3035 Wilmington Pike, Kettering, OH 45429.