Sincere pologies for the lateness of this note. I just heard about Richard’s passing from a close friend (who is also my neighbor). Her hairdresser is a friend of the family and my neighbor just told me today.

I grew up on Hampstead Avenue after our family moved to Parma from Ohio City. Richard and his family lived down the street from us; and he became a friend to one of my brothers. Richard and my brother worked as teenagers at the dairy in Cleveland (Richard got him the job). Richard was always so kind, always cheerful and with an enviable sense of humor. Those were not the happiest days of my life, but Richard could always make me laughand assured me betters days would come.   My mum was especially fond of him and often said he was the best of my brother’s friends.

I remember Richard’s parents well, as my future in-laws attended the same Methodist church. Though Catholic, I would go there on holidays and then attend my own parish services. In my teen years, Richard’s mum always waved and said hello to me when I walked home from late Mass at St. Charles and passed their house and also when I took the Ridge Road bus and walked past on my way home from working in downtown Cleveland.

Richard considered joining Corvette Cleveland and came to one of the meetings (my husband has been membership director for many years). We got to talk a while and were so touched with the love and care he showed his wife during her long and serious illness. It is no surprise he was such a wonderful family person and had so many good friends. It was disappointing to us that he decided not to join, as he would have been a wonderful member and would have made more wonderful friendships.

May the Dear Lord bless and keep him till we meet again. Deepest sympathy to all his family.

L. Kathleen (Mester) Blake

Aaron & Kate, and family, Judi and I want to  send our deepest sympathies on the loss of your Dad. 

We are so sorry to hear of Richie's passing. I am so glad Dave, Al and I got to see him @ the nursing home a short while ago when we ran into Aaron..! It was bittersweet and truly heart-wrenching, having gone through the same thing with my Dad 11, almost 12 yrs ago, and my mother in law a little over a year ago. I feel blessed we got to see him, knowing down deep, the prognosis probably isn't very good because it's such an insidious diseaser...but now the suffering anguish and pain are over. He's at peace now.

I have stories, I was not as close to your Dad as Davey and Al were, but it didn't really matter because when we did get together for some form of fun and frivolity, whether we were playing cards, or talking trash on the golf course, or smoking a big ole fat cigar, he always made you feel like it was just yesterday since we last spoke.  I loved him as a dear friend and man who always, (emphasis on 'always) made me laugh. A few instances I can recall...

Allen Benton Wrights funeral was a classic..! I have told people this story more times than I can count and  I want my service to be just like how Richie delivered Al's eulogy. One minute he had us in tears, and the next we were wetting our pants over a story he was telling us about the two of them on a business trip somewhere(that always involved a rd. of golf), then back to a serious story and had us all balling again. Thats how your Pops was, as you guy already know, witty, charismatic, interesting and a wonderful story teller and not to mention whip smart..!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Peter Sellers -Pink Panther bit where we would role play the scene where Sellers is renting a room(pron ruem) from an old Austian guy and asks "does your dog bite..? And, low and behold, he gets bitten! And and Sellers says, "I sought you said your dog does not bite?"(bad French accent), and the old man says, "s' not my dog".. we would giggle uncontrollably (or I would) even after saying it for the 100th time in the 30 years I knew Richie. 

OMgosh, then there were the golf trips or just the outings.  Some we can speak of, and others, well I'd probably rather forget. b/c back then, when I was drinking, I always seemed to be "over-served"adult libations back then,  and we would inevitably end up playing  cards till the wee hours of the morning with all the Burns brothers, Ray, and without fail, Bill "Lucky" Luckman, would have to ask Richie, "hey Rich, what game we playing..?" And Richie would look at him, over his glasses and say, "Bill, its a little old Indian game..! Thin Patee (need a lil help w/sp. Davey) or Kings and Lil Ones, 5 & a half 21, way too many to mention. But I truly believe he's in Heaven right now, giving your Mom a hard time, because he's going to golf with Allen Benton, Lucky, & Bill Roman. Then they'll end up playing cards...!

Rest in Peace Richie, your time on this plane is over, enjoy the next..! You deserve it..! And save me a chip and a chair. .! 

 Rich Dowell was my boss for 5 years when he worked in Suzhou, but he was much more than a mentor to me. He is so prefessional on friction material. He is kind and willing to teach me anything, whether it was the knowledge of friction materials, or the application and testing of friction materials, he taught me everything.He provided so much valuable advice for both job and life. I owe much of my growth to his teachings.

In life, he is also a very interesting person, often brings us a lot of happiness, working with him is easy, but also can learn a lot. We are the good friend, too. I often miss the happy times we had together. All the wonderful memories of him will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you very much for what he has done for me.

My sincere condolences for all the family of him.

Cai wenjun.

Rich Dowell was our boss for many years, but he was much more than that. He was one of our dearest friends, offering both of us advice, encouragement, and making us laugh a lot. He was a mentor at work, a golfing buddy, poker pal, and great dinner companion. He was always telling stories about his family and his fond love for them was abundantly clear.

We asked him to walk Michele down the aisle at our wedding, that’s how much he meant to us, and he was thrilled with the idea, showing up in a better tux than Dave had! We’re going to miss his stories and jokes and just hanging out with him. The countless memories we have of him will always be with us. He was the best friend you could ever ask for. Our sincere condolences go out to all the family.

Dave and Michele

The tears are flowing and this is so difficult to write.

Rich was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Not a mean-spirited bone in his body. The pictures here really capture the warmth in his face and smile.  I miss him already.

I was blessed to meet Rich in 1984 as I started my corporate career and worked for him for about 5 years in the early 1990s. He rescued me from so many trials and tribulations, it’s a debt I could never repay.  But I will try to pay it forward now, to honor him.

Rich and I shared a lot of interests—golf, poker, travel, music, education, movies, the arts. He LOVED playing matches against me in the old Wellman golf league. I was one of the better players so he raised his game to beat me. It was competitive but also a lot of fun—we were always good sports and shook hands afterward. I don’t remember who won more, but he got me a lot!

Once in the early 90s, Rich and I were traveling to Dana Corp in Indiana, and we stopped off at Detwiler Park in Toledo to play golf. It was a good match and he was 1-up headed to the 18th hole. I outdrove him by about 30 yards and was jazzing him a little to put the pressure on. He answered, rifling a 4-iron with a little draw into a pretty stiff breeze, ending up about 15 feet away, then just looked over at me with a wry smile. Game over. I gave him a big smile back, as it was a majestic shot. Then of course I uttered a few profanities his way, and we laughed and laughed afterward. We reminisced about that shot for years.

Rich was a mentor to me, a friend, a colleague, a golfing buddy and an inspiration. He may not have been tall in stature, but he was bigger than life.  I wish I could be half the man he was.

I will never forget Rich, and will cherish the memories forever.  He was one of those guys who made life worth living.  

Rest in peace, Rich.  I hope to see you again someday.

My uncle, a man with an incredible sense of humor. So loving and kind. His calming demeanor was something I tried to display and often failed to achieve. He will be missed deeply😔

Sending thoughts and prayers to his children, brother and sister.