Donald McDowell

Family to Receive Friends: Tuesday, Jan. 19, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.

Donald "Mac" McDowell, 88, of Miles City quietly passed away Saturday, January 16 at home with family members at his side.

Don was born on his father's homestead on the banks of Box Elder Creek on November 28, 1921,the son ofEllis "Young Tex" & Nina Maude (Elliott) McDowell at Pineile, MT, near Alzada,one of four children. The family moved to Miles City in 1928 where they had a small band of sheep near Signal Butte. They later moved into town and then to the fairgrounds where Tex was custodian during the period when war prisoners were held there. While attending schools in Miles City graduating from Custer County High School, Don and his friends explored nearly every gumbo butte surrounding the city. He enjoyed telling whoever would listen about the colorful people that lived in that era, many stories confirmed by reading old issuesof the
Miles City Star. In 1942 heenlisted into the Air Force Enlisted Reserve and later was inducted into the Army. He attended remote control turret school for B-29s at Lowry Field, Colorado. Later he was atWendover, Utah where he was assigned as a mechanic to the Army Air Corps whose task wasto remove the turrets from the B-29 bombers prior tothe bombing of Japan.Don was a member of the famous 509th composite group and personally new the crew of the Enola Gay and Bockscar, the two planes of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

One of his claims to fame was that he was chastised by Sweeny the pilot of Bockscarfor being too rough with the skin of his airplane, saying "I gotta fly this SOB." While working road construction, he met andmarried Eileen Moser in McLaughlin, SDbringing her back to Miles City where they had two children. He loved heavy equipment and worked various road jobs around the state. Later on he was a brakeman& conductor for the Milwaukee Railroad and was proud to have been on the last train to stop in Miles City when the Milwaukee went out of service. Don was alwaysbuilding new or remodeling a home or garage back when a carpenter's tools would fit into one wooden tool box. He built many reservoirs in Southeastern Montana andwas still repairingsome in his eighties even though he had to use a ladder to get up on the equipment. He also spent time covering the local landfill and coined the phrase, "backcyling" which usually lit in his back yard.


During the 1960's Mr & Mrs McDowell were the sponsors of the Harmony Hangout. During that time the Hangout building (now Senior Citizens Center) doubled in size two different times with donated labor from Mr. McDowell and "the kids".Don had a gift when it came to writing, and felt a great need to share his thoughts and ideas in the letters to the editor of the local newspapers. Whenever he mailed a letter, his return address usually included "Lions-72; Christians-0". Having coffee with friends at the 600 was an important part of his week as well as playing cards and drinking out of the short glasses.

In addition to his first wife Eileen of Miles City survivors include his son David of Nome, Alaska, Beverly (Rick) Harris of Miles City, grandson Michael Harris of Bozeman, Cassandra Harris of Loveland, Co, a great-granddaughter Lexi of Bozeman; and his sister Barbara Weaver Pelton of California.

He was preceded in death by his younger brother David McDowell, a sister Mary Lou McDowell, and a brother Joe McDowell of Broadus.

Family will receive friends on Tuesday, Jan. 19, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Interment will be held at a later date. Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the Montana History Room of the Miles City Public Library.