FAIRHAVEN — Grace L. (Libbey) Downing, 101, of Fairhaven died Tuesday, June 19, 2007, at Our Lady's Haven. She was the wife of the late Chester M. Downing, the former principal of Fairhaven High School.
Born in Lebanon, Maine, she was the daughter of the late Clifton G. and Edith F. (Worcester) Libbey. Grace was a graduate of Nasson College in Springvale, Maine and also studied at the University of New Hampshire and Boston University.
Mrs. Downing, a dedicated educator, taught at Fairhaven (Mass.) High School for 18 years in the Business Department and also taught in the Medway High School and the Old Rochester Regional High School.
A former member of the First Baptist Church in New Bedford, she was a long time member of the First Congregational Church in Fairhaven and the Women's Fellowship of the church. She was a graduate of Sanford Maine High School Class of 1923.
A quiet person, she loved all of her students and tried to instill in them the importance of an education.
She is survived by a stepson, Everett Downing and his wife, Ellen; three step grandchildren, Bruce, Ruth and Ellen; a niece, Carol Gail and her husband, Lester; three nephews, Roger Libbey and his wife, Sylvia, Richard Libbey and his wife, Shirley and Duane Leavitt and his wife, Nancy.
Her funeral will be Friday, June 22, 2007, at 10 A.M. at the Wilson Chapel, 479 County St., New Bedford. Burial in North Amherst Cemetery will be private.