Laconia-----Charles L. Downs, Sr., 78, of 14 Whipple Avenue died at the Lakes Region General Hospital on Monday, March 19, 2012.
Charles was born November 20, 1933 in Rochester, N.H., the son of Charles and Dorothy (Gilman) Downes and was raised on Channel Lane at Weirs Beach.
Charles served in the U. S. Army during the Korean War. In 1965, he was one of the founding professors at the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, N.H. where he taught for twenty-nine years. For a number of years, he was co-owner of Isabelle’s Red Shanty on Court Street.
Charles was a communicant of St. Joseph Church and enjoyed painting religious statues. He was a member of the Frustration Hill Blues Band for ten years and was a member of the D. A. V. He loved his family and enjoyed playing cards and being around the water.
Survivors include his wife of fifty-four years, Rachel (Isabelle) Downs, of Laconia; four sons, James A. Downs and his wife, Rebecca, of Laconia and their children, Nathan, Amanda and Jared, Charles L. Downs, Jr. of Laconia and his children, Robert, Shane and Michaela, Jason C. Downs and his wife, Janna, of Plainfield and their children, Brian and Michael, Keith M. Downs and his wife, Celina, of Milton and their children, Hadassa, Isaac and Giada; two daughters, Darlene A. Breton of Gilmanton and her children, Rachel, Audrey, Austin and Abbey and her husband, Ray, and Amy L. Moore of Gilford and her children, Dominic and Sydney and her husband, Tom, and Joseph’s son, Nathaniel and four great grandchildren. In addition to his parents, Charles was predeceased by a son, Joseph A. Downs, in 1984, by a brother, George A. Downes, and by a sister, Charlene D. d’Entremont.
Calling hours will be held on Thursday, March 22, 2012 from 5:00-8:00PM in the Carriage House of the Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, March 23, 2012 at 10:00AM at St. Andre Bessette Parish-St. Joseph Church, 30 Church Street, Laconia, N.H.
Burial will follow in the family lot at St. Lambert Cemetery, Province St, Laconia, N.H.
For those who wish, the family suggests that memorial donations be made to Holy Trinity Catholic School, 50 Church Street, Laconia, N.H. 03246.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N. H. is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.