Alan Lachlan Dow

Alan Lachlan Dow passed away at home in Chapel Hill on August 11th, 2025. Alan was born on April 10th, 1944 in Scotland to Dugald Campbell Dow and Jeanie Dow (nee McLachlan). The family moved to Kingston upon Thames, England, in Alan’s early years, where Alan and his older brother Ian completed their schooling and were active in the Sea Scouts. Alan received his B.Sc in Electronic Engineering from Southampton University and took his first job at EMI Electronics in Hayes, Middlesex. He held a position as Chief Engineer for Coutant Electronics in Ilfracombe, North Devon before beginning what would be a decades long career at DuPont in 1974.

Alan met his wife, Mary Penfold, during his time in Hayes, and they were married in 1976. Following their wedding they moved across the pond to Pennsylvania where their eldest son Robert was born, before living in Germany for a couple of years. After the birth of their daughter, Anna, Alan’s work took them back to Pennsylvania from 1980-1993. Their son, Philip, was born soon after their return to Pennsylvania, and Alan continued his work at DuPont in electronic technologies, semiconductor materials, and strategies and initiatives. In 1993 the family relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for Alan’s job, where they bought a house on a small lake which would become a beloved home for the family. Alan truly enjoyed the strategic planning and decision-making aspects of his job as well as the travel to Asia and Europe, particularly loving a role later in his career that afforded him the chance to spend time working with a team in Wales. He was driven by opportunities to solve problems collaboratively and find ways to drive the business forward. He was incredibly fond of his colleagues and the relationships he built with them, and was especially fulfilled by opportunities to mentor younger coworkers throughout his career. Following his retirement in 2004, he stayed in contact with colleagues, many of whom provided support from near and far in his final months and days.

Alan and Mary traveled back to England every summer with their children to visit with parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. Despite the distance the rest of the year Alan kept close relationships through the decades with his older brother, Ian and his wife, Carole, and their children Andrew and Emma. His love for family was something he instilled in his three children, along with a love of travel. While he tried to instill a love of trains, this was only a moderate success! Alan was always eager to help family or friends plan trips, and would pull out maps to help choose the best routes and to recommend destinations. If anyone in the family was traveling he would keep an eye on the flights, and would send you updates of where the plane you were boarding had most recently come from. He could find you alternate flight options within minutes of cancelation, and was always happy to meet you at the airport. He would often suggest that you reach out to someone he (sometimes only faintly) knew who lived remotely close to where you were going, insisting they would be interested in meeting and maybe hosting you, which was a reflection of his endless interest in doing the same in return. He was always delighted to show someone around Chapel Hill, take them out on the lake kayaking, or give advice to anyone who could benefit from his areas of expertise. His favorite holidays were in Italy, where he loved to travel with Mary, and captaining family trips on sailboats around the British Virgin Islands, drawing on his lifelong love of boats. The North Carolina beaches were also a destination he loved and where he created years of memories with his family. Alan and Mary would often take trips down for a few days to enjoy walking on the beaches, collecting shells, and cooking local seafood. He was able to enjoy a final trip with the family in July of 2025 to Emerald Isle.

Alan was a very loving and supportive father, and was proud of his three children. He was invested in their happiness and success, and was always eager to find ways to contribute to their lives. His six grandchildren were a source of joy, and he enjoyed getting the family together to travel or to spend countless afternoons and evenings in the garden by the lake.

Over the last decade he dedicated much of his time to Independent Animal Rescue (IAR), providing leadership and guidance through his role as the Chair of the Board. This was a role he took on after realizing there was absolutely nothing in his power that would persuade Mary to stop bringing home foster puppies and kittens, eventually deciding ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’ On any given day Alan and Mary could be found driving around the area feeding feral cats or spending time at the IAR office attending to various needs.

Alan had an unusual depth of curiosity. His family and friends knew that his many (many!) questions and endless interest in them was a genuine reflection of how deeply he cared. His love, support, friendship and companionship will be greatly missed. In his final years he was supported by his wife, children, son- and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, friends, and colleagues turned friends. He is survived by his wife, three children and their spouses and grandchildren.