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Passing
of
Ranger Stuart Dowell
Retired
Texas Ranger Stuart Dowell passed away May 17, 2006 in Tyler, Texas.
Dowell was born
January 20, 1932 in McAllen, Texas to the late Horton and Stella Peck
Dowell. He grew up in Poteau, Ok and lived in Corpus Christi, Hallettsville,
Victoria and Garland before moving to Tyler in 1972. He was a DPS officer
and served as a Texas Ranger in COmpany "B", retiring in March
of 1987 after serving with the Texas Rangers for more than 18 years
and investigating many well-known cases.
Mr. Dowell served
in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, was a member of Pleasant Hill
Baptist Church, and Pairs and Spares Sunday School class.
Wife Betty also retired as a secretary from the Department of Public
Safety office in Tyler.
In a 2005 interview with the Tyler paper, Stuart said he would not live
to see a trial in the one case that continued to plague his mind - the
1983 Kilgore Kentucky Fried Chicken murders. On Sept. 23, 1983, several
unknown suspects made their way into the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant
in Kilgore and abducted five people.
The suspects then
took the five victims to a rural oil field on Walter King Road, where
they were shot in the head and left for dead. An oil field worker discovered
the bodies the next day. Dowell joined the investigation the day after
the murders and was the custodian of some of the evidence collected
at the scenes, as well as during the autopsies, which he attended.
Lying in bed in his Tyler home, Dowell told the newspaper, "For
me, life is minute to minute. I don't think there will ever be a resolution
in this case."
Two men are awaiting
trial in the case; the first trial is scheduled to begin in August 2007.
William Brown, an investigator with the Rusk County District Attorney's
Office, was saddened at the news of Dowell's death. "I first met
him when I was in college in 1969, so I knew him almost 40 years,"
he said.
Brown said the first impression one would get of Dowell in the early
years was of a tough, no-nonsense lawman.
"Back in his heyday he was a big man that would scare you to death.
But once you got to know him you found that he was a nice guy with a
gentle heart," he said.
Brown said he worked with Dowell over the years and the two became friends.
They especially enjoyed going quail hunting together.
When asked whether the loss of Dowell was a loss to the law enforcement
community, Brown replied, "A man doesn't serve with DPS and be
named a Ranger without leaving a legacy for younger generations to follow.
I was proud to call him a friend and he will be missed."
He is survived by:
Wife Betty Dowell
of Tyler;
Daughters, Denise
Billings of Katy, and Valerie Ford of Whitehouse, Texas;
Step-sons
Wayne Todd, Joe Todd, John Todd and Lee Todd of Whitehouse, Texas;
Brother, Steve
Dowell of Poteau, Oklahoma;
Three grandchildren
Travis and wife Brandy Ford, of Whitehouse, Wayne and Erica Ford of
Whitehouse;
Step-grandchildren
Kelly and husband Phil Bailey of Richardson, Texas, and Kasey Todd of
Whitehouse, Texas.
The family wishes
to extend special thanks to Dr. Royal Becker and Dr. C. Fagg Sanford
for their kindness and excellent care.
Pallbearers were
Glenn Miller, Wayne Hellen, Rondal Jones, Stan Clark, Travis Ford, and
Wayne Ford.
Honorary Pallbearers
were all East Texas Law Enforcement Agencies & Active and Retired
Texas Rangers.
Sources include the Burks-Walker-Tippit
Funeral website and tylerpaper.com article “Retired Ranger Stuart
Dowell Dies” by Staff Writer Kenneth Dean, 5/18/2006
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