FORT MYERS, Fla. - Donald H. Downing, 74, formerly of Silver Lake, died June 4, 2007, in his residence, surrounded by his loving wife, Vickie Jones Downing; two daughters, Mrs. Clint (Kristi Jo) Dials, Fort Wayne, and Mrs. Rick (Donna Lynn) Zartman, Cocoa, Fla; his father- and mother-in-law, Frank and Betty Jones, Warsaw; dear friends, Rudy and Mary Jo Matland, Cape Coral, Fla.; and his furry four-legged girlfriend Sophia.
He was born in Dayton, Ohio.
Living and working in Fort Wayne and Warsaw, he was a sales and designer engineer. He retired to Fort Myers. Fla., in 1996. His passion was restoring and showing classic cars in the Warsaw and Fort Wayne area car shows.
Also surviving are daughter, Michelle Downing, Fort Wayne; two sons, Rodney Downing, Cocoa Beach, and Dr. Shane (and wife Laura) Downing, Churubusco; two sisters: Mrs. Kenneth (Carol) O'Cull, Ocala, Fla., and Mrs. John (Mary Lou) Mahan, Dayton, Ohio; three brothers, Walter (and wife Beverly) Downing, Lighthouse Point, Fla., and Virgil (and wife Carol) and Danny (and wife Vickie) Downing, both of Dayton; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Services were Thursday at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home. Entombment was in Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
Memorials to Hope Hospice, 9470 Health Park Circle, Fort Myers, FL 33908; Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, 9981 Health Park Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908; or Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, 2126 Alicia St., Fort Myers, FL 33901.
