David J. Dowd, banker, house builder, dies at 86

A former banker who became a builder, David J. Dowd became well-known for helping to bring back the Victorian style to Shelter Island.

Dowd, formerly of Glen Cove and Huntington as well as Shelter Island, died Oct. 1 of complications of kidney disease. He was 86.

Raised in Queens Village, Dowd progressively made his way east across Long Island during his adult life, living in Glen Cove when he married his first wife, Sally Flynn. They divorced after having two children; Laury and David.

Dowd moved to Laurel Hollow after buying eight acres overlooking Cold Spring Harbor near St. John's Church, designing and building an unusual octagonal glass house.

"It was 4-by-8 glass panels," said his son, David Dowd Jr. of Frelinghuysen, N.J. "It was quite the masterpiece for the time."

Later he sold that house and moved to East Norwich.

Dowd married and divorced two more times. His marriage to Carol Dowd brought two more children; Patrick Dowd of Bay Shore, and a daughter, Carol. Both his wife and daughter predeceased him.

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He then married Margaret Dowd in the mid-1970s, but they divorced around 1995, said David Dowd Jr.

Dowd was a successful commercial banker, starting at Irving Trust in 1953, then moving to Franklin National Bank and later Security National Bank before becoming president of Nassau Trust Co. in Glen Cove in 1973. Building on Long Island was booming during his years at these Long Island banking institutions, and Dowd was in the forefront of financing the build-out, said his son.

While at Franklin National, he was one of those responsible for finding funding for the 1964 World's Fair, something he was very proud of, said his daughter, Laury Dowd, town attorney for the Town of Shelter Island.

Dowd got out of banking at age 56, and decided to delve into a love he had embraced since childhood, and had already been successful doing - building homes. This time, he decided to move to Shelter Island.

He noticed at the time, said his daughter, that more houses were getting away from the 19th-century Victorian home style. He decided to help bring back the old style, with his company Victorian Homes.

Even through his three marriages, business problems and later illnesses, he always maintained a happy disposition, said two of his children.

"He always said he suffered from incurable happiness," said Laury Dowd. "No matter how sad the things that came at him, he was happy and upbeat. He would go to the doctor's office and he loved to sing to everybody."

A private ceremony was held, and he is to be buried Monday in Pinelawn Cemetery in Pinelawn.