www.montereycountynow.com MAY 15-21, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 23 Like many 74-year-olds, Palma School’s gymnasium needed a facelift. That’s how the school’s President Chris Dalman opened his remarks to a crowd of staff, students and alumni outside the entrance to the school’s 1951 gym on the overcast morning of Thursday, May 1. The smell of fresh tar and paint was still in the air inside and outside of the gym, which recently underwent a major renovation. As speakers lined up to the podium, the school’s bell went off at regular intervals, with crowds of students—both boys and girls—scurrying to their next classes. And therein lies one of the main reasons for the renovation: In 2024, Palma became a co-ed institution for the first time since 1964. “This past year has brought remarkable change to our campus, breathing new life into the halls of Palma,” Dalman said. “Our vision for this gym is two-fold: With the transition to a co-ed school, we need the best facilities for both our young men and women.” The renovation included new locker rooms, restrooms and offices, as well as a large foyer, where Palma’s many championship trophies and plaques are displayed, along with televisions showcasing highlights of the school’s athletes over the years. But there was another reason for the May 1 ceremony, a name that is displayed throughout the building, and takes center stage in the foyer, where a large plaque outlines this person’s achievements: Edward Dowd. Dowd, a 1963 Palma graduate, died in 2022 at the age of 76 after a 29-year battle with multiple sclerosis. Before he died, Dowd, who led a successful career in real estate, founded the Edward M. Dowd Foundation, with the purpose of benefiting organizations in Salinas and Santa Clara. Dalman said Dowd had supported Palma throughout the years with student scholarships and other projects. The idea of renovating the gym was floating around in conversations between Dowd and Dalman, but Dowd died before the plans came to fruition. The foundation’s directors took up the mantle, and in early 2024, after numerous meetings to go over schematics and legal work, donated the largest amount of money from a single donor in the school’s history: $2.5 million. Since its founding, the Edward M. Dowd Foundation has worked to provide grants to organizations focused on education, the arts and history, in both Salinas and Santa Clara, two cities that held a special meaning for Dowd. But a DNA test that led to a court case in San Francisco threatened to uproot the burgeoning foundation’s plans, just as it was getting started. Dowd was born on Sept. 13, 1945 in San Francisco. The family, with their three sons, moved to Salinas in 1952, where Dowd attended Sacred Heart Elementary and Palma High School. His brother Jim Dowd said Edward’s time at Palma was bittersweet. “The sweet part was he loved sports, football, basketball and track,” Jim told the crowd gathered at the gym on May 1. “The bitter part was, he personally didn’t like studying that much to begin with.” Dowd wasn’t a fan of how the school disciplined its students, which apparently happened frequently to him. Jim said his brother had two priorities at Palma: sports, and driving through Main Street in a candy-red ’56 Chevrolet, staring down students from Salinas High School. That resulted in a “dust-up behind Fosters” every once in a while, Jim said. But Dowd did graduate (“Our parents had their fingers crossed up to the last minute,” Jim said), and decided to join the U.S. Air Force. After four years in the service, he came back to Salinas a changed young man. Jim said Dowd learned the value of discipline and having respect for others, and told his brother that he didn’t want to fall back on the bad habits of his high school years. He ended up graduating with a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Santa Clara University, and then embarked on his real estate career with Marcus & Millichap, before forming his own investment company, EMD Properties Inc., in 1981, as well as financial institutions in San Jose and Sacramento. In 1993 at the age of 47, Dowd was Jim Dowd (center), brother of Edward Dowd, cuts the ribbon during a May 1 grand opening ceremony for the renovated gym on the Salinas school’s campus. He is joined by Salinas City Councilmember Margaret D’Arrigo (from left), Palma President Chris Dalman, Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Colleen Bailey and Mayor Dennis Donohue. “He loved sports, football, basketball and track. He personally didn’t like studying that much to begin with.” DANIEL DREIFUSS
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