Hazel Bevil Gilchrist McDowell

Mrs. Hazel Gilchrist McDowell, age 93, passed away on February 4, 2018 in her residence at Presbyterian Village in Austell, GA.   Mrs. McDowell was born February 7, 1925 in Gilford County, NC, the daughter of Doris Chappell Gilchrist and Charles Robert Gilchrist.

Mrs. McDowell was a 1942 graduate of Rankin High School, Greensboro, NC, where she was the President of her junior and senior classes, and a member of the Beta Club.  She was a 1946 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a major in biology and chemistry; and received a Master of Science degree in 1948 in Public Health and Parasitology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She was employed at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health at Chapel Hill as a Research Assistant in the Department of Parasitology; Manager of the Pharmacy at Oklahoma State University;  and Director of the outpatient laboratory of the U.S. Veteran’s Medical Facility in Manila, Philippines.  She was co-author of numerous articles in the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society.  While in Rome between 1969 and 2004, she was employed by the U.S. Census Bureau to run longitudinal surveys, she was an active member of the Mount Berry Garden Club where she served as Treasurer, Vice President and President; she was a member and leader in the Chapter AO of the PEO, and an ordained elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she served in multiple capacities in the Presbyterian Women of Westminster.  Mrs. McDowell was a Master Gardener, nature enthusiast, adventurous traveler, wicked bridge player, treasured friend and family member, devoted wife, and remarkable mother to her two adopted children.

She was predeceased in death by her husband of 63 years, Dr. John Willis McDowell; two sisters and one brother, Marcia Walters, Racheal Norton and Charles Robert Gilchrist Jr. of Greensboro; a niece and three nephews, and her beloved great-grandson, Brady Lee Waters.  Survivors include one son, Kenneth Edward McDowell of Marietta; one daughter and son-in-law, Jean McDowell Thomson and Robert Kinross Thomson of Smyrna; one grandson, Jesse Lee Waters; two great grandchildren, Hannah Mae Waters and Kellin Lee Waters; and eight nieces and nephews.

For ten years Dr. and Mrs. McDowell lived in Saigon, Vietnam; Teheran, Iran; and Manila, Philippines where he was Director of Malaria Control for the U.S. Agency for International Developmental.  During this time, Mrs. McDowell was Treasurer, Vice President and President of the American Women of Vietnam; member of the American Women of Teheran; member and Treasurer of the American Women of Manila, and member of the Public Health Service’s Women of Atlanta.  She was an associate member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Fraternity; a volunteer for the Hospitality House; and a Red Cross volunteer at Floyd Medical Center.

A memorial service will be held in the chapel of Presbyterian Village in Austell, GA on May 20, 2018 at 2:30 p.m., with Reverend Chris Moore-Keish and Reverend Greg Lund presiding.   In lieu of floral arrangements, it is requested that contributions be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1941 Shorter Ave, Rome, GA 30165 or to Presbyterian Village, 2000 East-West Connector, Austell, GA 30106.