Gaylene Holden McDowell went home to be with Jesus on January 14, 2022,
at the age of 80. Gaylene was born October 3, 1941, at the hospital in
Smith Center, Kansas, to George H. Howard and Leola (Oberdorf) Howard.
Gaylene attended the Smith Center schools and, upon graduation, attended
Fort Hays State University where she attained her Master's of Nursing
Science degree with a 4.0 GPA and worked as an RN until her retirement.
Upon graduation in 1963, she married Jerold "Sam" McDowell on June 1,
1963, and began her long career in nursing.
In her free time, she watched Sam set collegiate records on the
hardwood. She then worked in the Manhattan, Kansas, hospital while Sam
attended veterinary school. In Manhattan, her daughter Sandra Renee'
Henderson was born in 1966. In June of 1968, she moved with her family
to their new home, a ranch in rural Lebanon, Kansas, when her son
Shannon McDowell was born, and where she lived the remainder of her
life. Gaylene was active in the Thornburg Church, attended numerous
Bible studies, supported missionaries around the globe and shared her
faith and love with all those she encountered. The joys of her life
were her husband, her children, her grandchildren and, recently, her
three great-grandchildren, Charlie, Zeke and Kai. She visited her
grandchildren Joshua McDowell, Jacob Henderson, Rachael Dozier, Rebecca
Timmons, and Lydia McDowell every opportunity she had and their mere
presence brought a smile to her face and heart every time. Due to
distance, she was not able to visit her great-grandchildren as often as
she would have liked but enjoyed facetiming with them every chance she
had.
Gaylene prayed daily for each of her family and spoke of them to all
who would listen. In her free time, she was an avid volunteer with her
church and local library, and was an avid card player and book reader.
Gaylene was a frequent guest of her son's along with his wife, Lori,
and her mother, Karen Griffith, where many a heated game of cards or
dominoes took place. She had many friends and made new friends daily.
Gaylene never met a stranger and tried to help and encourage all those
she met.
She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Leola (Oberdorf) Howard, and her son-in-law, Randy Henderson.
Missing her are: her husband, Jerold "Sam" McDowell; children Sandra
"Sandy" Henderson and her son, Jacob Henderson; Shannon McDowell (Lori)
and his children Joshua McDowell; Rachael Dozier (TJ) and her children
Ezekiel and Hezekiah; Rebecca Timmons (Emmanuel) and her son Charlie;
and Lydia McDowell; Gaylene's brother George "Butch" (Wendy) Howard II,
and his children Michelle Muzyka and Anthony Howard (Dawn).
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