Mrs. Deborah Roy-Dowdell died Friday, March 2, at St. Peter University Medical Center in New Brunswick, N.J. She was 46. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Gleason Funeral Home, 1360 Hamilton St., Somerset, N.J. 08873. The funeral procession will depart from the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning for a 10 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Peter the Apostle R.C. Church in New Brunswick. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery in Piscataway, N.J. Born in San Francisco, Calif., Deborah lived for times in Libya, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., then Somerset, N.J., and New Brunswick before settling in Highland Park, N.J., in 2001. A 1988 graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Services, Deborah received her baccalaureate in political science. Mrs. Roy-Dowdell's professional accomplishments were many. She was vice president of the New Jersey Travel Industry Association, a board member of ArtPride New Jersey, and was a member of Governor Chris Christie's transition team after his election in 2009. Deborah served as secretary/treasurer of the Council of State Restaurant Associations, served on the National Restaurant Association's board, and lastly, as president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association, where she had the ear of governors, assembly persons, and industry leaders statewide. Mrs. Roy-Dowdell was predeceased by her father, Welton Roy Jr. in 1991. She is survived by her husband of 23 years, Phillip Dowdell; her mother, Vivienne Roy, and stepfather, Franklyn Brown, of Somerset; her sister, Michelle Roy of Franklin Park, N.J., as well as a host of extended family, colleagues, neighbors, and friends. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions in Deborah's name to the St. Peter the Apostle Church Restoration Fund, 94 Somerset St., New Brunswick, N.J. 08901.
