Linda Bonjean Dowling

FALMOUTH – Linda Bonjean Dowling, known to friends and family as “Bonnie,” died June 7, 2022 at Mercy Hospital in Portland. She was born Mary Linda Bonjean on May 8, 1941 in Springfield, Ill. to Roscoe Bonjean and Ruth MacBride Bonjean. Her life was rich with adventure and wonderful friends local here in Maine, her adopted home, and across oceans and continents. Amusingly, in the days following her death, we discovered that none of us were sure of her exact legal name or how her name had changed from that shown in her birth records to that shown on driver’s license, checkbooks, and accounts. To all who knew her, she was simply “Bonnie” (or a respectful “Mrs. Dowling” to her children’s friends). In the early morning hours following the night of her passing, her daughter, Anne, penned the remembrance below that we think nicely captures the “Bonnie/Mrs. Dowling” known and loved by so many.



“My Mom, Mary Linda Bonjean Dowling passed away yesterday, June 7, 2022 from Metastatic Lung Cancer. She was 81. She went by “Bonnie” for most of her life. It was the name given to her by the nurses in the hospital when she was born. Bonnie was a force. Strong willed and strongly opinionated…and fierce in love as well. As a child she overcame numerous surgeries to correct bad directionals in her stomach. She was a fighter. Her mother was a great beauty of Ohio and her dad was a prominent Illinois lawyer and President of Land of Lincoln Bank. She grew up playing golf and was told many times over that she was a natural golfer. She had a beautiful swing…if you followed her ball, it would sail with an amazing and powerful trajectory. She made the front page of Maui Times with her hole-in-one when she was on vacation there. She was a skier and a snowboarder who loved Sugarloaf with all her heart. She loved Pinot Grigio and the Red Sox. She was 5 foot 5 inches tall…and only weighed 107 pounds, but her presence was inescapable in any room.

Prideful, confident and fashionable. She met Patrick A. Dowling in high school in Springfield, Ill..…and she followed him when he went off to study at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She attended Manhattanville College in New York City, N.Y., but married Patrick before graduation. They were married at the Hanover Church in New Hampshire and had four children: three boys, and then a girl. They settled in Cape Elizabeth where Patrick “Pat” started his medical practice as an orthopedist in Portland. She was President of the Junior League of Portland, Maine, on several ski committees and went on to be a paralegal for many years. She specialized in title work and being part of the legal community was a source of pride for her.

As a mother, she had high expectations, held high standards and would not take “no” or “I don’t want to do it” for answers. She was fiercely proud of and loved her children (Chris, John (Lara), Tony (Laurilyn), and Anne (Kenny)…and even more fiercely proud of and deeply loved her grandchildren (Wyatt, Quinn, Kaitlyn, Tegan, Alexandra, Sophia, Finn and Isabella). She loved her Portuguese Water Dogs (Teddy, Bella, Pippa and Blarney), who were, as a general rule, fed a gourmet homecooked meal before anyone else in the house. She loved Buster the Maine Coon cat who hung out on a pillow in her bay window watching over her in her last days. She loved her friends… Springfield, Ill. childhood friends (Nancy, Mary, Polly, Carol, Penny and Judy), her sisters-in-law Mary and Martha, her Junior League friends (AL, Dee Dee, Franny and Martha), Judy Dooley, Janet Brown and Marj Katz who all regularly checked in on her.

She was an amazing cook and baker who made wonderful meals for everyone who showed up at her house. The fridge was always full with nourishing salads for any occasion…like feeding my hungry bridesmaids at 2 a.m. There were homemade cakes for birthdays…and delicious pies. She would arrive to Freestyle Skiing events with her four kids and a Coleman cooler overflowing with a bounty of delights for everyone at the event. Kids, parents, judges all enjoyed and were fueled for greatness with her cinnamon twists, fried chicken, apricot bars, molasses cookies, chocolate chip cookies and pasta salads. Her Christmas cookie assortment was legendary…pfeffernusse, almond crescents, springerle, needhams, as was her impressive, colorful and joyful gingerbread houses. Cooking and baking were her way of nourishing her active kids and welcoming others.

She loved her extended family. When you achieved a success, there was no greater champion of your efforts than Bonnie/Mom. She is already greatly missed. Love you, Mom. Rest easy now.”



Bonnie forged her own way, following only her own innate sense of style and love for her husband, family, and friends. She eloped with her high school sweetheart and life partner, danced in gown at JFK’s inaugural ball and barefoot in the mud at Dartmouth College, discovered Alta in the ’70s, two-stepped in San Antonio, Texas, enjoyed Trentino wine in the land of her ancestors and mountain breezes on the side of Haleakela at the home of friends Toni and Lee, played sandlot baseball in her hometown of Springfield, Ill. and at Carrabassett Valley airfield, hiked Bigelow and Katahdin, skied Jackson Hole, Vail, Chamonix, Breckenridge, Squaw Valley and many more, snowboarded Sugarloaf well into her 70s, and trekked across Canada and the U.S. in her red Suburban loaded with young skiers. She made fast friends everywhere she went.

Bonnie was diagnosed with terminal cancer two days after a weekend celebration of her 81st birthday attended by several of her children and grandchildren at the home in Falmouth she shared with Patrick, Blarney, and Buster. In the following weeks she rested at home and enjoyed the company and attention of all four children (John and Anne had come in from Vail and Breckenridge, Colo., and Chris from Brookline, Mass.), several grandchildren (Kaitlyn came home from Dartmouth College), Pat, Mary (Pat’s sister who had come in from Nellysford, Va.), the constant, quiet presence of Buster, less quiet attention from Blarney, and lovely sunsets over the Presumpscot Estuary. She lit up for every visit and for every call and note from friends near and far. She was relaxed and happy. All the people she had taken care of until the time of her diagnosis had only short time to return the favor.

Her family gathered for a quiet remembrance and burial on a beautiful first of July morning at Foreside Cemetery, a favorite playground of her cat, Buster. A memorial service will be held in Maine later this summer.