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Brad McDowell - Year Entered 1976

Brad McDowell

Sent by:  Leslie Delamater Anderson Aitken

 

From: Keri Miles


Brad McDowell, 63, of Spokane, WA, passed away Monday, January 6th, 2020. His death came at home, surrounded by his wife and daughters, after a years-long battle with aggressive prostate cancer.

Brad was born on July 1, 1956, in Smith Center, KS, the geographical center of the United States and near where the American classic folk song, “Home on the Range” was composed. His family later moved to Grand Island, NE, and Brad became a lifelong Cornhuskers fan.

After high school, Brad worked several years for the Minden, NE, Gas Company before moving to Pasadena, CA, where he attended Ambassador College in the late 1970s. It was in Pasadena that he met Rhonda Cosco. They married in San Carlos, CA, on May 31, 1982, and lived first in Pasadena and then in the Antelope Valley, where they had two daughters, Laura and Amelia (Amy), before moving to Spokane in 2006.

Brad was a church pastor from 1998 to 2004, a team member of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and a community volunteer throughout his life.

Brad’s lifelong career work was in heating and air conditioning. For more than 20 years, he owned his own business in the Antelope Valley. Soon after moving to Spokane, he joined the employee-owned firm, Sturm Heating, as Commercial Department Manager, working until two weeks before his death.

Brad loved sports, and through the years he played football, basketball, softball, racquetball and golf. He also refereed, umpired and coached football, softball and basketball. He loved deep-sea and freshwater fishing, boating, musical theater, which he called his “new group sport” with his daughters (after peripheral foot neuropathy kept him from other activities), and fantasy football. Brad also loved to travel and spend time relaxing with his family.

Brad’s wide network of friends and family describe him kind, generous, “friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), and the “Life of the Party” with an endless sense of humor. Friendship and laughter followed him wherever he went.

He is survived by his wife, Rhonda; his daughters, Laura of Seattle, WA; and Amelia (Amy) of Portland, OR; his parents Everett and Jolene McDowell of Grand Island, NE; eight siblings and numerous extended family. He is also survived by most of the 23 members of his Kensington High School (Goldbugs) Class of 1974, who went from Kindergarten through 12th grade together and have kept in touch throughout the years. Their most recent mini-reunion was hosted by Brad in July, 2019.

A memorial service to honor Brad’s life will take place in March in Spokane. Contact me or Rhonda Cosco McDowell for details.

 

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