26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 15-21, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com 1 ceremony at Palma School that one time when Edward was dating a woman, he told his mother he was going to Carmel to buy a diamond for the woman, much to the excitement of their mother. Jim, who witnessed the conversation, said he took his brother to another room to have a conversation with him. “I told him, ‘what the hell are you doing?’” Jim recalled. “‘You just can’t do that to mother.’ He said, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it. Not a big deal.’ “That’s the way he looked at dates and women. He showed me one time a marriage contract his lawyer wrote up for him, and I told him there’s no way in heck anyone is going to sign that. He just laughed and said, ‘That’s why I got it.’” Jim, who now lives in Virginia, said people always asked him why Edward never got married: “I tried to explain it to them: He was too busy, and second, he didn’t care.” In a statement to the court, Bell wrote that Dowd told her he believed he couldn’t have children—he “had been with many women during his lifetime and had never gotten anyone pregnant.” Still, Dowd reportedly treated Koch well, as according to Bell, “he would often visit and had a special place in his heart for Andrew.” He apparently offered to buy a home for the mother and son, and “Edward even hung a photo on his fridge of me and Andrew for several months,” Bell wrote in court papers. It’s statements like these that lead Koch to believe that Dowd would have included him in his will had he known he was his father, noting that Dowd was very generous with his money and toward others. Koch’s filing states that because Dowd was listed in the Ancestry database, he believes Dowd was looking for heirs to pass on his wealth. “Through these gifts and his nonprofit giving Decedent was trying to continue his legacy with the assets that he had accumulated during his life because he was unaware that he had any persons to continue that legacy,” the claim states. “If he had known that Petitioner was his son, Decedent would have seen that as an opportunity to continue his legacy and would have provided for Petitioner.” Through a filing by Dowd’s trust’s San Francisco-based attorneys, Hanson Bridgett LLP, the trustees agreed on a handful of facts listed in Koch’s petition, namely that Dowd was generous with his wealth, had submitted his DNA to Ancestry and Koch was not listed in the will. The case slogged through the court system for more than two years, as the parties underwent written discovery and depositions. On March 26, the judge directed the parties to meet to determine the next steps before a possible trial. They reached a settlement agreement and on April 21, John F. Doyle, Koch’s attorney, filed for the case to be dismissed, “with prejudice”—meaning that he agrees not to file a future suit. “The claims in the lawsuit were vigorously denied, and ultimately the lawsuit was dismissed,” says Daniel I. Spector, who served as the lead trust and estate litigator representing the co-trustees of the Edward M. Dowd Trust. Spector says the terms of the settlement are not being disclosed—but what led to it depends on the perspective of the parties, he adds. “After more than two years of litigation, my clients and I concluded Mr. Koch could not prevail on his claim under the Probate Code,” Spector says. “However, the cost of litigating and appealing Mr. Koch’s claim would be substantial and the delay in funding the Dowd Foundation for the benefit of various Bay Area nonprofits would be long. Thus, my clients made a rational business decision to purchase an end of the dispute through a dismissal based on the continuing cost of defending against Mr. Koch’s claim.” The parties were due to next appear in court on June 2, but since the settlement is not subject to the court’s approval, the hearing is canceled. The Edward M. Dowd Foundation is “alive and well,” says Jim Dowd, who serves as the foundation’s president and chair of the board. Grant applications are accepted twice a year, with the next round of applications due Sept. 15. Applicants must be a tax-exempt public charity or be financially sponsored by one. Also, they must support projects that benefit Salinas or Santa Clara University. More specifically, the foundation’s areas of focus are arts and education, health and human service, and veterans. Jim Dowd says it was important to his brother that the foundation give back specifically to Salinas and Santa 2014 Thanks to a donation from Dowd, the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building is established at Santa Clara University. 2022 Dowd donates to the Natividad Hospital Foundation to renovate the courtyard and Mental Health Unit at the Salinas hospital. FEB. 27, 2022 Dowd dies after battling MS for 29 years. AUGUST 2022 Andrew Koch takes a DNA test from Ancestry.com, discovering he is Dowd’s son. MARCH 17, 2023 Koch files a case in San Francisco County Superior Court, demanding all of the assets from Dowd’s trust. APRIL 21, 2025 The parties reach a settlement, and the case is dismissed. MAY 1, 2025 Palma School celebrates the grand opening of its renovated gym, made possible by a $2.5 million donation from the Edward M. Dowd Foundation. Clara, as both cities were where he grew up and was educated. Since its inception, the foundation has handed out grants that average $50,000. It follows Dowd’s philanthropic philosophy of giving back to places and organizations where he had a personal connection. In 2016, Dowd donated $3 million to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, at that time the largest donation the organization received from a single donor. In an announcement marking the gift, Dowd said his MS diagnosis was “one of the best things that ever happened” to him, because it allowed him to focus on philanthropy. “I realize the value of services for people with limitations. I have help navigating life with MS, but I often wonder how people without sufficient resources manage even the day-to-day tasks,” he said in 2016. “My overall focus is to help improve the quality of life for people with MS who do not have the financial means to get the support they need.” The court inside Palma School’s gym received updates as well as its new name posted on a wall (seen in the background). LIFE continued from previous page “[Dowd] would often visit and had a special place in his heart for Andrew.” DANIEL DREIFUSS
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