Obituary of Phyllis M. Dowd

Phyllis (Kellogg) Dowd, a longtime resident of Billerica, MA, passed away peacefully at her home on February 16, 2019.

Phyllis was born on April 23, 1942 in Medford, MA. She was the daughter of the late Harvey and Beatrice Kellogg and one of five siblings. She lost her Dad at a young age and spent her childhood and teenage years in Medford where her Mom worked hard to raise her family.   

Phyllis married the love of her life, James Dowd, in September of 1970. She and Jim moved to Billerica shortly thereafter where they loved to host parties and spend time with friends and family. Her favorite time of year was Christmas.  She would spend months beforehand buying and making gifts and preparing for Christmas Eve when she would sit back and watch her family open gifts and laugh together.  She loved arts and crafts and over the years spent time making jewelry, homemade candy, photo books and needlepoint gifts. She loved to sew and make curtains and quilts for her children and grandchildren.   

Phyllis was the mother of seven children including the late James Whidden. She is survived by her husband Jim; her daughter Judy and husband John Durkin of Groton, MA; son John and wife Barbara Whidden of North Andover, MA; daughter Joy Whidden and fiancé Michael Oley of New Boston, NH; daughter Kelly Dowd and husband Mel Girlack of Barrington, NH; son Sean and wife Sharon Dowd of Nashua, NH; and son Dan and wife Jennifer Dowd of Westford, MA.  She was grandmother to the late John Durkin Jr, and leaves behind her ten beloved grandchildren Katlyn Anctil and her husband Ryan; Ryan Griffin; Tyler Whidden; Emily Whidden; Sam Whidden; Ben Whidden; Matt Whidden; Erin Dowd; Allie Dowd and Kylee Dowd.  She is also survived by her sister-in-law Mary Dowd.
Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Phyllis’ life on Wednesday February 20th with visiting hours from 4-7pm including a memorial service beginning at 6pm in Burns Funeral Home, 354 Boston Rd, (Rt. 3A), Billerica, MA.  Burial will be held privately at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Phyllis’ name may be made to the American Lung Association, 55 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60601 or to the action.lung.org donation site. Donations may also be made to the Special Olympics at give.specialolympics.org in memoriam of Phyllis Dowd. www.burnsfuneralhomes.com