Edward "Jr." Leroy Downey

OTTAWA – Edward “Jr.” LeRoy Downey, age 76, of Ottawa, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Saturday, June 8 ^th .

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 14 ^th , at Gladfelter Funeral Home.  Burial with full military honors conducted by the Ottawa Veterans Group will be in Oakwood Memorial Park.  Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home.  Pallbearers for Eddie will be his grandsons, Justin and Dalton Downey, Michael Gregory, Gary and Kory Hall and his good friends, Ron Link and Kenny Donnelly.  Honorary pallbearers will be George Hanselman, George “Butch” Ferguson and Andy Smith.

Edward was born October 23, 1936 in Seneca to Edward Earl and Alice (Bennett) Downey.  He married Donna Hanselman on May 22, 1963 in Joliet.  They recently celebrated their 50 ^th anniversary.  He is survived by his wife, Donna, of Ottawa; three daughters, Evelyn Downey of Tacoma, Washington, Paulette Downey-Hall of Auburn, Kentucky, and Susie (Mike) Gregory of Ottawa; three sons, Edward “Butch” (Becky) Downey of Yale, South Dakota, Darryn (Sue) Downey of Ottawa, and Mickey (Tricia) Downey of Marseilles; 18 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; two sisters, Darlene (Al) Drake and Judy Mae (Dennis) Marx, both of Independence, Missouri; and one brother, Bobby “Beaver” (Judy) of Streator.  He was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Jason; one grandson, Tommy; one sister, Joan; and two brothers, LaVern and Tommy.

Edward, known by friends as “Eddie” or “Jr.”, and by his grandchildren as “Grandpa”, “Parta”, and “Parti”, worked at Caterpillar in Aurora until his disability.  He proudly served his country in the United States Navy and was honorably discharged due to his health.  He had a love of automobiles and owned many makes and models over the years.  His love of autos turned into his collection of die cast cars that he proudly displayed for all to see.  He loved his family dearly and was blessed with wonderful neighbors and friends.  Memorial contributions may be directed to the family.