Robert J. Dowie, 87, of Lancaster, PA, passed away on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Lancaster General Hospital.

He was the husband of Anna Eggers Dowie, with whom he celebrated 63 years of marriage this past June 7 ^th . Born in Clairton, PA, he was the son of the late Robert R. and Amanda E. Burkholder Dowie. He was a 1941 graduate of Clairton High School, and also a graduate of Gettysburg College.

Robert had been the vice president and member of the board of directors for the G. C. Murphy Company for 38 years.

A US Army veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, he served in the Pacific Theater and the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II as a Technician 4 ^th Grade with the Signal Corps. He was commissioned as a 2 ^nd Lt. in 1948, and served as a heavy weapons instructor with the 101 ^st Airborne Division, being discharged as a 1 ^st Lt. in 1952.

Robert was the Past National Commander of the China-Burma-India World War II Veterans Assn, serving from 1989 to 1999. He had also been a 60 year member of the Somerset Masonic Lodge 358. Robert had served as Mayor of Pleasant Hills Borough. He was a member of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church and had served on the Manheim Twp. Planning Commission.

In addition to his wife, Robert is survived by his daughters Diana L. Morrow of Sacramento, CA and Marsha married to Louis Ruttkay of Lancaster, PA; his son Robert R. married to Margaret Stanley Dowie of Dormont, PA, and by his 2 grandchildren Anna and Leslie Ruttkay.

Friends will be received on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 from 1-2PM at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 10 Delp Rd. Lancaster, PA 17601, with the Funeral Service to follow at 2PM. Interment will be private and at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in Robert's memory to St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church or to Brethren Village, 3001 Lititz Pike, Lancaster, PA 17606. To send an online condolence, please visit SnyderFuneralHome.com. Charles F. Snyder Jr Funeral Home & Crematory 560-5100