James M. Dowling ’50  on April 12, 2009 at a care center in Brentwood, Contra Costa County. He was 81. He was born in Alameda, the second son of Thomas and Alice Dowling, and was raised in San Jose. He attended Bellarmine Prep High School, where he was active in sports. Family members said he dabbled in boxing and basketball, but his favorite sport was football. He was a starting fullback at Bellarmine from 1942 to 1944, and played for Santa Clara University from 1946 to 1949, playing in every game during that period. In 1950, he played on Santa Clara Orange Bowl team. He was named to the football Hall of Fame at both Bellarmine and Santa Clara. After college, he was drafted to play for the Cleveland Browns, but turned down the offer to marry his wife, Jane, in 1951. After their marriage, he served in the U.S. Navy, where he also played football. They lived in Southern California for several years, then moved to Walnut Creek to be closer to friends and family, where they lived for 30 years. In 1996, they moved to Twain Harte, where they had spent many summers vacationing. Mr. Dowling was preceded in death by his wife, Wilma Jane Close Dowling; his brother, Thomas Lawrence Dowling Jr.; and his infant son, William Thomas Dowling. He is survived by three children; Michelle Huddleston and her husband, Mark, of Twain Harte; James Dowling Jr. and his wife, Melinda, of Morgan Hill; and Catherine Gomes and her husband, Wade, of Brentwood; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and his brother, Austin Dowling, of New Jersey.