Margaret Dowell-Gravatt was born in Edmonton, Canada in September, 1920. She was the daughter of a college professor and home economics major from Iowa State University. She was raised in Crookston and St. Paul, Minnesota. She did her undergraduate and medical schooling at the University of Minnesota from 1938-1944. She also did an internship in the pediatrics department at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Margaret moved to Salem, Oregon, in 1949 to start her solo pediatric practice. She was known as the nature lover in the family and loved the climate and lush landscape of Oregon. Margaret met Arthur Gravatt in Salem and they were married in 1955. In 1957, Margaret closed her practice and worked as a medical consultant for the Department of Rehabilitation for the State of Oregon.
In 1964, Margaret and Arthur moved to Penn State and later to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where Arthur was a professor. Margaret loved the people, crafts, and nature of Appalachia. In 1973, they returned to Oregon where Arthur completed his teaching at Oregon State University in Corvallis and Margaret worked at OSU in Student Health Services retiring in 1982. Arthur and Margaret were both distinguished faculty members at Oregon State University, and were honored with Emeritus status. Margaret and Arthur moved to Portland in 1986 to live at the Willamette View Manor.
They enjoyed Portland Museums, music and theater. Margaret was an avid student, letter writer, and Democrat. She attended medical lectures well into her 80s. She enjoyed nature, acquiring knowledge, speaking out in the face of injustice and caring for others.
Arthur and Margaret established the Margret Dowell-Gravatt, M.D. Scholarship by outright gift through the Oregon State University Foundation in November, 1988. The scholarship is to encourage and support ethnic minority undergraduate women enrolled in the College of Science and pursuing a B.A. or B.S. degree in Zoology or Microbiology or one of the following Pre-Health Programs: Medical Technology, Medicine, Nursing, Physical and/or Occupational Therapy. The recipient will be selected by the OSU Foundation Scholarship Awards Committee working with advisory members from the College of Science.
Arthur passed away in January 2000, and Margaret in April of 2013. Margaret is survived by two nieces, and a nephew of Pasadena, California.