Catherine "Cathy" J (Carter) Dowrey

Catherine (Cathy) Jane Dowrey
November 14, 1932 ~ June 4, 2018

Catherine (Cathy) Jane Carter was born in Bremerton, Wash., the oldest of Edgar and Eula Carters three children. Edgar, a carpenter by trade, moved his family around the Kitsap peninsula of Puget Sound as work became available. The girls enjoyed learning life skills that would serve them well. They graduated from Grandview High School in Grandview, Wash., where Edgar and Eula retired to farm 10 acres. Cathy earned a degree in home economics from Washington State College (University) class of 1954. This gave her the opportunity as home extension agent in Sandpoint , Idaho. A teaching degree from Oregon State University carried her to her first teaching position in Phoenix, Ore. She met and married Rev. Robert F. Dowrey in Medford, Ore., on June 4, 1961. Their 36 years serving the Lo rd in the Uni t ed Methodist Oregon/Idaho Conference took them on many adventures. Catherine always extended herself and her time freely, creating a better place wherever she went. Their travels were frequent in the church as she raised daughters Leslie and Jennifer (son John deceased to Cystic Fibrosis as a child). She was an avid gardener creating functional beauty in each new community they were appointed to. She was a brilliant cook, seamstress, teacher, but it was with her additional degree from Eastern Oregon State College in fine arts that showed her true artistry in every media she touched. Retirement brought her potting studio to life, a dream she had for a long time. Her first show at The Dalles Art Center exemplified her ceramic creativity. She especially enjoyed raku firing and the surprises it would yield. Her retirement in The Dalles included: volunteering for 20 years as an AARP tax aid; local and district-wide involvement in the United Methodist Women; a lifetime membership as a master gardener; and a consistent volunteer for The Dalles warming shelter on cold winter nights. We will miss Cathy’s laughter, smile and her sparkly eyes that kept talking with us to the very end. She taught us to give of ourselves, of our time, to help whereever we could, and laugh the whole way through. 

Catherine is preceded in death by son John Robert, husband Rev. Robert F. Dowrey, and younger sister Betty (Carter) Gibson. 

She is survived by daughters Leslie (Brad) Gover; grandchildren Katherine and Wyatt Gover; Jennifer Dowrey and grandsons Christopher and Steven Fridley; sister Roberta Martin Seattle, Wash., and daughters Anne and Janel Martin. 

A celebration of life is planned Saturday Sept. 8, 2018, at 11 a.m. at The Dalles United Methodist Church.
All are welcome to attend and share stories and memories.

Internment will follow for the family at the Arlington, Ore. Cemetery. 

Remembrances can be made in her name to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Oregon.

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