George Carleton Dowdle

George Carleton Dowdle entered into the presence of the Lord on September 9, 2025 at the age of 92 in Katy, Texas. He was a native of Alabama, born in Irvington on June 16, 1933, and in 1955 was married to the love of his life, Marilyn Janice Stork of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Carleton and Marilyn celebrated the milestone of 70 years of marriage in June, 2025. In the 1950s, he joined the military at the onset of the Korean War, and after release from active duty began college, but realized his interest lay in electronics, radar and radio so he returned to active duty to attend the Army’s Signal School in Monmouth, New Jersey. This effectively began his career in the Aerospace and Defense programs. Carleton was working with radar systems in Maine, Tennessee and Georgia, when he was contacted by the General Electric Company about work on the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Guidance Program in 1958. He then set up ICBM systems in Mississippi, Nebraska and California, and while in California, was integral to the operation of the ICBMs during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Following this, General Electric transferred him to Daytona Beach, Florida to work on the Apollo Space program, and where he and Marilyn would spend the bulk of their years rearing their young family of four children. Many of the family moves afforded opportunities to camp in various areas, such as Big Sur Campground in California, the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, and primitive camping at “Lost Creek” in the North Georgia Mountains. Most evenings Carleton played the banjo which attracted other campers to join them at their campfire. Carleton was one of the three supervisors dedicated to the training program for the Apollo system, and as a part of this, he helped write a script for the Apollo “movie,” depicting the total operation of the system’s equipment; a copy now resides in the Smithsonian Institute. After Apollo 11 made its moon landing, he was transferred to Huntsville, Alabama to work on the Skylab program which then took the family to Merritt Island, Florida for the Skylab launch from Cape Kennedy in 1973. At this point, the Space program was winding down, and he spent a few years working in Houston until 1978, when he began work again with General Electric, this time with ship systems, and the Conduct of Fire Trainer (COFT) Simulation Program. A few years of consulting followed until his retirement in 1995. Carleton’s many awards over the years include the Apolloneer Award, the Apollo 8 Medallion Award, the Very Impressive Performance Award, the Firepower Award (for COFT), and the WIN Management Award. Just before retirement, he and Marilyn settled in Dahlonega, Georgia where they enjoyed a mountain home with trails, bridges, a wood-burning stove, and a shooting range. They spent several years involved in a food ministry for the poor, the Gideon International Bible ministry, and even more time travelling to places they loved or had not seen. He lived out his faith through the teaching of a nine-year Bible study, and expressed his extensive biblical knowledge in his writings. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Stork Dowdle; daughter and son-in-law, Pam and Al Ritch, Waco, Texas; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Jonathan Lovelady, Jacksonville, Florida; son and daughter-in-law, Durran and Terri Dowdle, Katy, Texas; daughter and son-in-law, Dara and Randy Simmons, Port Orange, Florida, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother and his wife, Walter Reid and Mabel Dowdle, Hahira, Georgia, and his sister Rebecca Drew, Brandon, Florida. He was preceded in death by his brother and sister-in-law, Charles and Nellie Dowdle, Mobile, Alabama. A service will be held at the Serenity Funeral Home Chapel, 8691 Pascagoula Road, Theodore, Alabama, with interment to follow at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Bayou La Batre, Alabama on Saturday, September 27, 2025, with the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Lovelady officiating.

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George Carleton Dowdle

June 16, 1933 - September 9, 2025