Dorothy Dottie Anne McCoy Rowcliffe

DECEMBER 9, 1942 – MAY 22, 2023

IN THE CARE OF

Palm Eastern Mortuary & Cemetery

Dorothy (Dottie) Ann Rowcliffe passed away in the arms of her loving husband, Paul on 22 May 2023.

Dottie’s passing culminated a life that could easily be characterized as Camelot-like. Born on 9 December 1942 in Yukon, West Virginia to Carl and Virtie McCoy, her family later relocated to New York state where she eventually met the love of her life, Paul Rowcliffe, in her ninth-grade year at Batavia High School. Always a stylish and elegant woman, Dottie was voted Best Dressed her senior year. After graduating from high school, Dottie attended the Rochester Business Institute and afterward started working at Eastman Kodak Corporation in Rochester, New York. Concurrent with her employment at Eastman Kodak her fiancé, Paul, attended Purdue University. She and Paul were wed shortly after his graduation on 18 June 1966, and they began a whirlwind career serving in the United States Air Force. The quintessential fighter pilot’s wife juggled the responsibility of raising 3 children who were born in quick succession with the enormous task of assisting in the advancement of Paul’s career. During Paul’s tour in Vietnam, Dottie and the kids returned to Batavia to wait out Paul’s assignment, where she was able to raise their children amongst their extended families, a blessing not often reserved for military families. During their 26-year career they circumnavigated the United States in a multitude of assignments, including Lubbock, TX; Columbus AFB, MS; Goldsboro, NC; San Antonio, TX and Homestead, FL. At the culmination of their career, Dottie was trained by the US State Department to serve our nation in Pakistan at the US embassy entertaining dignitaries and statesmen. Throughout their time in service to our country, Dottie handled herself with fortitude and grace while navigating the difficulties of a career in the military and that of a US Statesman. Upon Paul’s retirement, they initially relocated to Columbus, MS for a short period and finally landed in Henderson, Nevada. For the past 26 years, Dottie served her community, attended New Song Lutheran Church and reignited friendships made during their 26-year military career.

Dottie is survived by her adoring husband, Colonel Paul Rowcliffe (ret), her daughter Michelle Phillips and husband Scott of Katy, TX; son Kevin Rowcliffe and wife Melissa of New Braunfels, TX; and daughter Shannon Mahan of Wichita, KS; 7 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Virtie; sister, Dolores Wandryk; and brother, Iray McCoy.

Words cannot express the profound loss the family feels with her passing.

The family had a private ceremony and interment on 27 May 2023 at Palm Eastern Mortuary in Las Vegas, Nevada. In lieu of flowers, please direct any donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Keep Memory Alive Foundation, or The American Cancer Society in Dottie Rowcliffe’s honor.

SEE LESS 

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/las-vegas-nv/dorothy-rowcliffe-11301065