MURIEL DOWE

FORT WORTH -- Muriel Pemberton Dowe died peacefully Friday morning, Aug. 20, 2010, during her 94th year.        Service: 2 p.m. Wednesday in the chapel at Trinity Terrace, 1600 Texas St., Chaplain Tricia Baldwin officiating. Muriel will be laid to rest privately with her husband, Benner, in Laurel Land Memorial Park. She will lie in state on Tuesday at Robertson Mueller Harper where laughter and tears will be shared from 3 to 4 p.m.        Memorials: In lieu of flowers, consideration of expressions of sympathy to the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, the All Church Home or to Trinity Terrace, benefiting 2nd Floor residents, in her memory, is suggested.        A native of Newark, N.J., Muriel was born July 21, 1916, the daughter of Walter R. and Florentine Kearney Pemberton. She was a graduate of Miss Whitman's School in Newark, but later moved with her family to Madison, N.J. In 1952, she moved to Houston where she met and married V. Benner Dowe. The couple settled in Fort Worth in 1983 at Trinity Terrace to enjoy their retirement years.        Muriel retired in 1972 as supervisor of stenographic services for Shell Development Company, Houston. After moving to Fort Worth, she became a member of the Newcomer's Club and the Hoe 'n' Grow Garden Club. She was a lifelong traveler having visited all seven continents and over 150 countries, some many times. In 1997, she became one of about 2,000 tourists who have ever set foot on top of the world, the geographic North Pole, and celebrated her 81st birthday aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker in route to the pole. She was inspired by an article read in a magazine during her youth that described an elderly priest who was traveling the world. When asked why he would make such a strenuous trip at his age, he replied, "When I meet my Maker and He asks what I thought of His world, I don't want to say, 'I don't know, I never saw it!'"        She was an accomplished pastel portrait artist, often photographing subjects on her travels to be used for later portraits. Spare time was spent doing intricate needlepoint and, in later years, making miniature rugs for the dollhouses of her many little friends. Her home reflected her many interests. Muriel lived life to the fullest and viewed death as the beginning of the greatest adventure of them all.        She was preceded in death by her parents; beloved husband of 39 years, Benner, who died in 1996; brother, Walter R. Pemberton Jr.; and nephew, the Rt. Rev. Mark R. Pemberton.        Survivors: In addition to her dear friends, Beverly Green of Houston and Nancy Courtney of Fort Worth, Muriel is survived by her godchildren, Christina Courtney Rodgers and Scott F. Courtney Jr.; many "adopted" children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a host of friends worldwide. Robertson Mueller Harper Funerals & Cremations 1500 Eighth Ave., 817-924-4233 To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of MURIEL DOWE please visit our Sympathy Store.