In Memory of Walter Dowhyj
December 2014 :
It was with great sadness to learn of the recent death of Walter Dowhyj. Although not a presence lately, in past decades Walter had been almost a permanent fixture at Skyscrapers, serving as trustee and being at many public open nights.
In addition to astronomy, Walter was famous for his cars. Very often he would travel around the state, looking for a car he might love to drive, as long as he believed it was in good condition. At one time, he owned 18. It was always a surprise when he drove in to Peeptoad Road, as we never knew what car he would be driving. He even brought his love of cars to his work, as much of his time he was employed at the shipyards, driving the new models out of the ships and into the yards for pickup by carriers. He was often the first to know of any special model car that might soon come on the market.
Walter came to Rhode Island with his parents from Ukraine in the early 1950s. As such, upon the deaths of his parents, Walter leaves no family except the friends he made at Seagrave. We will miss him.
Photos provided by Steve Hubbard show Walter participating in a restoration of the Alvan Clark telescope in 1976.
