Obituary for Moira Cotter Dowling
Moira Cotter Dowling of Fredericksburg, Virginia and Galway, Ireland, passed away peacefully at the age of 90 in Chesapeake, Virginia on 24 April 2022.
Born to Mary Hickey and Patrick Cotter on 3 February 1932, Moira was raised in both Galway City and Tullamore, Ireland as one of ten children. At the age of 21, she emigrated to the United States. After a brief stint in New Orleans, she moved to Syracuse, New York where she met Kevin L. Dowling at the behest of his father, Leo. Leo, himself an immigrant from Dublin, Ireland, was a well known facilitator of cultural and political ties on both sides of the Atlantic.
Moira and Kevin married on 2 May 1959 at the church of Saint Francis Xavier in New York City. They first settled in Syracuse, New York and then relocated in 1967 to Kinnelon, New Jersey, where they raised their six children. Moira was an active member of the Kinnelon community, serving as a neighborhood ‘Mom’ to many of the neighborhood children over the years, Parent Teacher Association officer, Smoke Rise Garden Club organizer, and as Assistant Librarian at the township library.
In 1992, Moira and Kevin relocated to Cape Cod enjoying the seashore, and then on to Cooperstown, New York for several years of ice cream and baseball. Later in life, Moira and Kevin settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
A devout Roman Catholic, Moira found great joy in participating in her parish communities and traveling to pilgrimage sites around the world. In addition to Croagh Patrick in her native Ireland, she journeyed to Lourdes, France; Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Holy Land.
She was predeceased by her husband, Kevin (26 April 2010), her daughter Maura (29 November 2011) and her daughter-in-law, Traci Polden Dowling (25 January 2022). She is survived by her children, Kevin of Los Angeles, California; Sean of Rutland, Vermont; Seamus and Julia of Princeton Junction, New Jersey; Siobhan and Robert Johansson of Alexandria, Virginia, and Shane of Chesapeake, Virginia.
Moira leaves behind five cherished grandchildren: Erin Dowling, Liam Johansson, Olivia Johansson, Jillian Dowling and Shane Dowling. Her four-year-old twin great-grandchildren - Oliver and Shane - are the children of Erin and Matthew Dowling.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, Washington D.C. on 5 May 2022 with Visitation at 9:30am and Mass at 10:30am. Live streaming will be provided. Moira will be interred adjacent to both Kevin and Maura at Mount St. Mary’s Cemetery, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent in Moira’s honor to one of her favorite charities. Catholic Relief Services https://www.crs.org/, Carmelite Nuns of Santa Fe https://www.carmelofsantafe.org/, Parkinson’s Foundation https://www.parkinson.org/, LAM Foundation https://www.thelamfoundation.org/.
Click Here for - Moira Dowling Worship Aid
Born to Mary Hickey and Patrick Cotter on 3 February 1932, Moira was raised in both Galway City and Tullamore, Ireland as one of ten children. At the age of 21, she emigrated to the United States. After a brief stint in New Orleans, she moved to Syracuse, New York where she met Kevin L. Dowling at the behest of his father, Leo. Leo, himself an immigrant from Dublin, Ireland, was a well known facilitator of cultural and political ties on both sides of the Atlantic.
Moira and Kevin married on 2 May 1959 at the church of Saint Francis Xavier in New York City. They first settled in Syracuse, New York and then relocated in 1967 to Kinnelon, New Jersey, where they raised their six children. Moira was an active member of the Kinnelon community, serving as a neighborhood ‘Mom’ to many of the neighborhood children over the years, Parent Teacher Association officer, Smoke Rise Garden Club organizer, and as Assistant Librarian at the township library.
In 1992, Moira and Kevin relocated to Cape Cod enjoying the seashore, and then on to Cooperstown, New York for several years of ice cream and baseball. Later in life, Moira and Kevin settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
A devout Roman Catholic, Moira found great joy in participating in her parish communities and traveling to pilgrimage sites around the world. In addition to Croagh Patrick in her native Ireland, she journeyed to Lourdes, France; Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Holy Land.
She was predeceased by her husband, Kevin (26 April 2010), her daughter Maura (29 November 2011) and her daughter-in-law, Traci Polden Dowling (25 January 2022). She is survived by her children, Kevin of Los Angeles, California; Sean of Rutland, Vermont; Seamus and Julia of Princeton Junction, New Jersey; Siobhan and Robert Johansson of Alexandria, Virginia, and Shane of Chesapeake, Virginia.
Moira leaves behind five cherished grandchildren: Erin Dowling, Liam Johansson, Olivia Johansson, Jillian Dowling and Shane Dowling. Her four-year-old twin great-grandchildren - Oliver and Shane - are the children of Erin and Matthew Dowling.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, Washington D.C. on 5 May 2022 with Visitation at 9:30am and Mass at 10:30am. Live streaming will be provided. Moira will be interred adjacent to both Kevin and Maura at Mount St. Mary’s Cemetery, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent in Moira’s honor to one of her favorite charities. Catholic Relief Services https://www.crs.org/, Carmelite Nuns of Santa Fe https://www.carmelofsantafe.org/, Parkinson’s Foundation https://www.parkinson.org/, LAM Foundation https://www.thelamfoundation.org/.
Click Here for - Moira Dowling Worship Aid