G. Downing

G. Don Downing, 92, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, passed away at his residence Wednesday, June 10, 2009. A longtime public servant, he was born in Stokes Township May 8, 1917, a son of the late Charles Hunter and Margery Pearl Kennedy Downing.

On May 22, 1938, he married the former Helen Mae Detrick by Rev. Shellhous at the Methodist parsonage in Bellefontaine, and she passed away February 22, 2003. He also was preceded in death by a son, Donald Wayne Downing; a daughter, Mary Beth Downing; two brothers, Glenn and Joe Downing; and two sisters, Reba Vonderhaar and Jane Deal.

Survivors include five daughters, Barbara (Robert) Floss of Hampton, Arkansas, Nancy (Richard) Harmon, Donna (Dan) Risner and Thelma (Keith) Matthews, all of Bellefontaine, and Beverly Edwards of Tallahassee, Florida.; twenty four grandchildren; fifty two great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A1935 Bellefontaine High School graduate, the farmer drove school bus for the Bellefontaine City Schools from 1949 to 1952, and was a member of the First United Methodist Church since 1923. He became a member of Harrison Grange at the age of fourteen and was a seventy year member of Pomona Grange.

Active in the community, he was a Bellefontaine School Board member from 1953 to 1957. A Union Township Trustee from 1957 to 1964, he served on the Logan County Board of Commission from 1964 to 1972 and served as Logan County Treasurer from 1972 to 1993. A member of the Ohio Treasurer Association and the Logan County Republican Party, he was a life member of the B.P.O. Elks, a 50-year member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge # 309, Bellefontaine, and was a Shriner for twenty five years.

Calling hours are from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. Saturday, June 13, 2009, at the Eichholtz Funeral Home in Bellefontaine, with a Masonic service at 7 P.M., and again on Sunday June 14, 2009, from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. Rev. Ed Beale will conduct the funeral service at 11 A.M. Monday, June 15, 2009, at the First United Methodist Church in Bellefontaine. Burial will follow the funeral service in the Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church 210 N. Main St. Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311

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