G.G. Dowling, as he was known to his family and friends, was born in Greenwood, South Carolina on September 29, 1915, a son of Grafton Geddes Dowling and Lenora Connors Mauldin. He graduated from Greenwood High School in 1932 and won a scholarship to the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he earned bachelor of arts, bachelor of laws and juris doctor degrees. He was a member Sigma Nu fraternity. He practiced law with his brother, Joab Dowling from 1938 until his retirement except for time spent in government service and as a soldier in World War II. G.G. Dowling served as a member of the S.C. House of Representatives; a member and chairman of the S.C. Highway Commission; chairman of the Port Royal Ports Authority; chairman of the S.C. Probation, Parole and Pardon Board; member of the S.C. Reorganization Committee; president and chairman of the State Chamber of Commerce; and president of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association.
He served for more than 40 years on the board of the S.C. State Fair Association.
In 1958, he was a founder of the Bank of Beaufort and served as its president and chairman.
He served as president of the Beaufort Rotary Club, the Beaufort Propeller Club and the Beaufort Navy League.
He was president of Royal Gardens, Inc., Sra Island Development Co. First Beaufort Corp., Family Finance and Investment Co. and Capehart Development Co.
In 1973, he was appointed presidential delegate to the United Nations Conference on Rules of Warfare in Geneva, Switzerland, and served at all sessions until the conference adjourned in 1978.
He helped start a Beaufort branch of the University of South Carolina and taught 10 years as an adjunct professor of economics and political science.
He married Edith Bannisters of Nelson, Lancashire, England, in 1949.
He is survived by his sons David Dowling of St. Augustine, Florida and Geddes Dowling of Atlanta and a daughter, Elizabeth Dowling-Sendor of Chapel Hill, N.C.