Obituary of Boyd McDowell

Boyd McDowell II, of Elmira, NY died June 9, 2013 at Seneca View, Montour Falls. He and his wife, Barbara, moved to Naples, FL in 1996 and returned to Elmira in 2010. He summered at the McDowell cottage, Brookledge, at Glenora-on-Seneca Lake. He was President and then Chairman of the Board of Chemung Canal Trust Company from 1976 to 1991. A member of one of Elmira's oldest families, he was a great great grandson of John G. McDowell, one of the founders and first president of Chemung Canal Bank in 1833. Boyd's great great great grandfather was Daniel McDowell, who served as a captain in General Sullivan's army and settled near Lowman in 1786. Boyd McDowell II was born March 2, 1926, to attorney Robert Pitkin and Ruth Adams McDowell. After graduating from Elmira Free Academy, he began college at Syracuse University where he was a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity; he then attended St. Lawrence University as a navy officer trainee, before graduating from the NROTC program at Holy Cross College in 1946. A reporter for the Star Gazette for several months, he then attended Cornell Law School, from which he graduated in 1950. He practiced law in Elmira with his father for six years before joining the bank's Trust Department. He was known for his outgoing and optimistic nature, and believed that any worthwhile endeavor could be accomplished. Always active in civic affairs, he served many years on the boards of community organizations, including Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital, Arnot Art Museum, Chemung County Historical Society, Chemung County Chamber of Commerce, Elmira College, Rockwell Museum, Five Rivers Council Boy Scouts of America, Southern Tier Economic Growth, and The United Way. He was a director of several business corporations including Arnot Realty, Hardinge, Inc., Schweizer Aircraft, Elmira Floral Products, and Rathbone Corporation, in addition to the bank. In banking, he served as chairman of the NYS Bankers Association Trust Division, and as Treasurer of the Association in 1979-80. He was recipient of Young Man of the Year in 1960 and the Chemung County Distinguished Citizen award in 1986. A lifelong participant in the Boy Scouts, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout and won the Silver Beaver award for service. He served as a trustee for many years and then President of the Riverside Cemetery of Lowman, NY, where he will be buried. He was a member of the Park Church, First Presbyterian Church in Elmira, and the SAR. He is survived by his wife Barbara Hickox McDowell, three children: Boyd III (Bonnie) of Chicago, Peter (Anne) of Kirkland, WA, and Elizabeth (Heather) of Boston; 2 stepchildren: Susan Fisher (Kenneth) of Rochester, and Lydia Eldridge (James) of Horseheads; eight grandchildren and one great grandchild; as well as one brother, John A, of Glenora, NY. He was pre-deceased by his older brothers Robert A. of NYC and Willard B. of DeWitt, NY and one stepchild, John C. Phelps. In lieu flowers, the family asks remembrances to the Chemung County Historical Society, the Park Church or the Five Rivers Council, BSA. A memorial service will be held at a future date and will be announced.