William Downs

CAIRO, Ill. -- William Roy Downs, 82, of Cairo died Monday, July 4, 2005, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

He was born March 3, 1923, son of William Allen and Ruth B. Dunlap Downs. He married Mary Elizabeth Neathamer.

Downs retired from Illinois Central Railroad, and served with the Cairo Auxiliary Fire and Rescue Department. He was a member of Tigert Memorial United Methodist Church and VFW Post 2649.

He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II.

Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Ellen Haynes of Jackson, Tenn., Brenda Richter of Cairo; two sons, Philip Downs of Ottawa, Ill., Joseph Downs of Salem, Ill.; a sister, Amy Davis of Ashtabula, Ohio; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister.

Friends may call at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo from 5 to 8 p.m. today.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Tigert Memorial Church, with the Rev. Kelly Cox officiating. Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens at Villa Ridge, Ill.