Edwin Leonard Dow

Edwin (Ed) Leonard Dow of Atlanta, GA passed away at the Fountainview Center for Alzheimer’s on Christmas Day 2022 at the age of 84.  Ed was born February 1, 1938, in the Bronx, New York to parents Harry Allen Dow and Jean Muriel Dow (Martin). In 1962, Ed married Gail Maureen Dow (Falconer) in Toronto, ON and they had two children, Robert and James.

Growing up an only child in New York City, Ed enjoyed spending time at the zoo, Central Park, museums, and attending Yankee games with his parents. He also relished summer visits with his extended family in Massachusetts and New Brunswick, Canada. Following the sudden loss of his father in 1952, Ed moved with his mother to her hometown of Alma, NB, a quiet village located at the mouth of the Salmon River that enters the Bay of Fundy. There, Ed was raised closer to his mother’s extended family who had lived in the logging, fishing, and shipbuilding community for generations. As a teenager, Ed developed a strong interest in the outdoors and enjoyed swimming in the area creeks, fishing, hunting, baseball and playing hockey on frozen ponds in winter. He also helped his mother run the village hotel and general store.  Later in life, Ed would reminisce to his kids of the days when he would huddle up to the family radio and listen to Foster Hewitt’s national broadcasts of Montreal Canadiens games.  

Ed was an excellent student and earned his Bachelor of Science (Civil Engineering) in 1961 from the University of New Brunswick. To help cover his tuition, he worked tough jobs in logging as well as in a meat packing plant. As a young civil engineer, Ed found his skills to be in high demand, and he immediately landed work in the explosives industry, specializing in rock blasting for quarries, heavy construction, and mining. This phase of his career took him and his family to cities big and small across Canada, including to some of the most remote areas of the country where he worked on large hydroelectric projects. Ed was proud of being a part of something bigger than himself knowing that his contributions would one day bring power to large swaths of the country for decades to come. In 1979, Ed moved the family to Miami, FL to begin the next phase of his career in heavy construction sales. Ed traveled the world to service his heavy construction customers, especially to Latin America and the Caribbean. Often, Maureen would join him in his travels and eventually, the two would embark on their own personal adventures.

Ed was above all a devoted husband and father, and despite his travels for work, when home he made it a point to be with his kids. Whether coaching them in baseball and hockey, playing golf, or even skiing, Ed just wanted to be surrounded by his family.  In 1999, Ed and Maureen retired to Naples, FL, where they continued to enjoy time with their family, played golf and bridge together, and continued to travel the world. Ed especially loved seeing his grandchildren and his one great granddaughter.

Ed was preceded in death by his wife (Maureen), his eldest son (Robert), his parents, his twin brother and sister (lost shortly after birth), and his favorite pal - Sam (German Shephard). He is survived by his son (James) and his wife (Lisa Hoard Dow), his daughter-in-law (Danya Dow), his granddaughters (Melanie and Alexa Dow), and his great granddaughter (Violet Dow).

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org <http://www.alz.org>.