Valley County, IDGenWeb Project | |
Donald “Bob” Downend, 85, of Boise, formerly of Cascade, passed away August 18, 2011 at his home in Boise.
Per my wishes there will be no services.
I was born on Oct. 16, 1925 in Arling to Harold and Lemby (Nortune) Downend and grew up with two sisters, Dorothy and Marie.
I attended grade school in Arling, the ninth grade at Donnelly High and finished my last three years at Cascade High, graduating in 1943.
In 1945 I married Nellie Francis. We were blessed with a son, Dan, in 1947 and a daughter, Bobbie Kay, in 1951.
I entered the Army in 1945 and was serving in Japan when the peace treaty was signed on the battleship USS Missouri.
After I returned from the service, I farmed with my dad in Arling and worked at Pumice Block Company in Boise and Smith & Bedal Logging Co. in Garden Valley.
I was a distributor for Utah and American Oil Co. in Cascade for 26 years, delivering in Valley County and its back country.
I was then the Valley County Assessor from 1979 to 1991 before retiring. In 1968 Bob Gardner and I took over maintenance of the Cascade Golf Course so the City of Cascade would not turn it back to grazing cattle.
We had it in good shape after a few months. It is now a beautiful course on Lake Cascade.
I enjoyed golfing, bowling, boating, and water skiing on Lake Cascade with family and friends. I was Past Master of the Masonic Lodge No. 82, Associate Patron of OES No. 74, and served on the Cascade City Council.
Retirement saw Nellie and I traveling many miles in our motor home to some special places like the Pacific Coast, Las Vegas, Parker and Lake Havasu, Ariz.. In 1995 we flew to Mazatlan, Mexico, to celebrate our 50th anniversary as a gift from our daughter.
In 2004 came a big change in our lives. We sold our home of 52 years, business office and shop in Cascade, and then moved to Boise.
I am survived by my loving wife, Nellie; son, Dan and wife Kitta; daughter, Bobbie Kay; grandsons, Greg and Jeff; nephews Gene and Bill Avery and JR Allen.
I was preceded in death by my parents, Harold and Lemby Downend; a sister, Dorothy (Warren) Avery; a sister, Marie (Pat) Allen and a nephew Jim Avery.
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