Obituary of Joel E. McDowall

CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF BROTHER JOEL E. MC DOWALL

Joel’s first love has always been the work of the Lord.

Joel E. Mc Dowall married Rose Marie San Filippo on October 28, 1979 at the Hanson Place SDA Church, in Brooklyn, New York.  The Minister who officiated the services was Pastor Glen Roberts from Trinidad.  Joel was born in the Beautiful Island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on April 14, 1937, to Stella and William Mc Dowall.  He has two living brothers and two living sisters.  His brothers are Dr. Nathaniel Mc Dowall, and Dr. Walter Mc Farlane.  His Sisters are Dr. Anestha Mc Dowall Brown and Dr. Hyacinth Mc Dowall.

Joel loved Evangelism.  Joel and his brother Nathaniel where a dynamic duo on fire for the Lord. Joel and his brother Nathaniel began witnessing for the Lord back Home in St. Vincent. At age four or five years old Joel conducted the Adult Choir at the Queens Hall School Auditorium.

As teenagers they would hold services.  Joel would organize everything and Nathaniel would Preach.  Together they did Crusades, Bible Studies and held Prison Ministry meetings at the Royal Highness Prison in Kingstown, St. Vincent. They held a Crusade One Christmas at five in the morning when the whole town came out to pray and sing and praise the Lord. Together they planted a lot of seeds only time will tell how many where sown. There were several Baptisms.

Joel went to school at the West Methodist Elementary School and Pimmy Richards High School in St Vincent. He left school to help his mom in her Business. Later on Joel earned his High School GED in the United States at the  Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York.

Joel was an extreme asset to his Mother Stella who had a business to support the family in selling and exporting goods in St. Vincent.  Back in those days he and his Mom carried a basket on their head and traveled the Island selling their goods.  Until one day the Lord Blessed Joel with a car making it a whole lot easier to travel the Island with their products.  Later on his mom relocated to Trinidad and continued the Business of selling and exporting goods to Joel in St. Vincent where he sold goods to his customers from a store they had rented.  Joel also had the first bus service on the Island.  

His mother called Joel her “right hand, her left hand, her everything.”

In later years Joel followed his brother Nathaniel to the United States. Joel worked as a Chauffeur for Hagstrom Map Company and Mrs. Finkelstein. Joel  was loved by everyone he worked for.

Joel became a Literature Evangelist working for the Northeastern Conference of Seventh Day Adventists in New York under the leadership of Elder Silas McClamb.  He was the top salesman and won an award for top sales.  In addition to Literature Evangelism Joel worked hard selling Presto Pride Cookware.  Many souls where introduced to The Message during this time. While doing Literature Evangelism the Lord impressed Joel to put together a Film that he would take to secular as well as Seventh Day Adventist Churches to promote the sales of the many books the Conference had to offer.  At that time the salesman introduced Joel to equipment that was brand new on the market, it did not even have an instruction booklet.  The salesman promised to contact the company and have them mail Joel the instructions when completed.  However, Joel bought this brand new machine and worked with it and the Lord blessed him to get the machine up and running before the company could even send him the instruction booklet.  

Many souls where blessed by his presentation of the Film “When Jesus Comes for You.”  One precious soul he wrote about in the experience called “Moments Away”.  God blessed Joel with a beautiful baby blue Dodge Maxi Van in which he could transport his equipment.  He then had the name 

“Maranatha Herald Film Ministry Heralding Christ to the Nations” placed on the van along with his phone number so Churches can schedule a time and place for the Film.

One day Joel decided he wanted to Incorporate the Maranatha Herald and traveled to Manhattan in New York City to an attorney’s office on the 48th floor of the World Trade Center.  For some

Reason Joel was having a hard time getting the Maranatha Herald Incorporated and the Attorney had to turn him away quite a few times.  One day Joel came in to the office and the Attorney was about to turn him away again when her secretary volunteered her services to assist in getting his Ministry incorporated.  The attorney was willing to let her assist and together 

“The Maranatha Herald Film Ministry” was finally Incorporated.  Rose Marie was that secretary.  Joel loved his Church Family very much .   Joel loved singing and leading out in Song Service at Church.

 He was a Deacon at The Lady Lake SDA Church  in Lady Lake, Florida;  And truly enjoyed when the children came up for their collection baskets.  He had so much love for children and such a loving, kind smile for them.  

He was also very much involved with Prison Ministry For more than twenty years and still kept in touch with the prison until he passed.  

Joel loved and cared for his wife of forty years Joel’s love for his wife goes far beyond measure.On Tuesday, a week before he died he called Rose Marie to him. He said:  “Honey, I have to tell you something before I can’t talk anymore.”  So she went closer to him and said yes Honey.  He said:  “I just want you to know that I love you more than words can ever say.”

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VIEWING FOR JOEL IS ON TUESDAY, JUNE 25TH 2019 FROM 6PM – 8PM AT THE:

HIERS BAXLEY FUNERAL HOME

910 EAST SILVER SPRINGS BLVD.

OCALA, FLORIDA  34470

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR JOEL IS ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26TH 2019. 

THERE WILL BE A VIEWING AT THE CHURCH AT: 9:30 A.M. WITH FUNERAL SERVICES TO FOLLOW.  THE CHURCH ADDRESS IS AS FOLLOWS:

THE LADY LAKE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH 

231 LAKE GRIFFIN ROAD

LADY LAKE, FLORIDA  23159