Ruth Mary Downey
Ruth Mary (nee Reuwer) Downey, 89, died Dec. 9 in Atlanta. She was born in Cincinnati April 19, 1921.
She graduated from Withrow High School in 1939 and the University of Cincinnati in 1943. Ruth married Dr. Joseph F. Downey March 20, 1946. They lived in Japan in the post-war years, eventually returning to Cincinnati, where they raised their children.
In their later years, she and her husband traveled the world from their home on Anna Maria Island, where the family joined them in 1996 to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
Mrs. Downey pursued hobbies centered on nature. She was instrumental in planting a butterfly garden, volunteered at the Mote Marine Science Center and for Anna Maria’s turtle watch patrol. She amassed a vast shell collection from years of beach walks and more recently enjoyed nature walks at the Robinson Preserve. Her greatest joy may have been fishing, a lifelong skill she taught her children and grandchildren to love.
Services were held at Spring Grove Norman Chapel Dec. 12. Memorials may be made to Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Development Office, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota FL 34236, or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York NY 10004. Condolences at rohdefuneral.com
Mrs. Downey is survived by her children, Robert of Seattle, Rick and wife Holly of Atlanta, and Patti Lowe of Cincinnati; and seven grandchildren, Laura Ansley, Stephen Joseph, Ryan Joseph, Matthew Robert and Jenna Elizabeth Downey, and Brian Joseph and Jennifer Elizabeth Lowe.
Louise Maltby McNellis Kring
Louise Maltby McNellis Kring of Anna Maria died Dec. 11. She was born in Kansas City, Mo., May 24, 1925.
On graduating St. Teresa College (now Avila University), Louise married James Burton Kring. She earned a master’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University in 1965. She was an educator at Holy Trinity School and at Cook Hill Elementary in Wallingford, Ct.
The couple lived in Wallingford for many years before moving to Amherst, Mass. In 1981, they moved to Anna Maria where she worked with her son Stephen at his business, Horizon Realty.
Mrs. Kring was a member of St. Bernard Catholic Church in Holmes Beach.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, at St. Bernard Church, 248 S. Harbor Dr., Holmes Beach. The family will receive friends at 9:30 a.m. at the church. A private interment will be held at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. Donations may be made to a charity of one’s choice.
Mrs. Kring is survived by children, Marilyn and husband Keith Brockhaus, Stephen and wife Dee, Michael and wife Margaret Publicover, Dr. Anne and husband Keith Rowley, Dr. Timothy and wife Wendy; grandchildren Allen Hubener, Jennifer Cart, Rebecca Kring, Patrick Kring, Hannah Roth, Matthew Roth, Sarah Brockhaus, James Kring and Angela Kring; and great-grandchild Brendan Cart.
Edward ‘Ned’ Foote Perkins
Edward “Ned” Foote Perkins, 95, of Anna Maria Island, died Dec. 3. He was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., March 23, 1915.
He was a 1937 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. He married Margaret Parmeter in 1938 while living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1945, he began working for IMC, retiring in Lakeland in 1972. His work with IMC took him all over the world, while the Perkins family made their home in Lausanne, London, Zurich and various places in the United States.
Mr. Perkins also traveled extensively for pleasure, visiting every continent other than Antarctica, as far north as the Arctic Circle in Finland and south to New Zealand’s South Island.
Mr. Perkins joined Rotary Club in Chicago in 1954 and maintained perfect attendance for 50 years. He was a member of the Lakeland South Rotary Club for 36 years before joining the Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island in 2004. He loved Rotary for the service performed by the organization and for the lasting friendships. He was an active volunteer with the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter for 10 years and also served as a board member. He served on the Polk Museum of Art board of trustees and board of governors and on the Lakeland community services planning board. For the past two decades, he volunteered at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society.
The family plans a celebration of life in Anna Maria in late spring 2011. Condolences may be made to Barbara Sheridan, 18494 Cameron Road, Gordonsville, VA 22942. Donations may be made to the Rotary Foundation at www.rotary.org or 14280 Collections Center Drive, Chicago IL 60693. Arrangements were by Heath Funeral Home, Lakeland.
Mr. Perkins is survived by sister Elizabeth Myers Bain of Bloomington, Ind.; daughter Barbara Sheridan of Gordonsville, Va.; grandsons John Potter and Bill Sheridan of Charlottesville, Va.; granddaughter Ann Potter Herchenrider of Arlington, Va.; and two great-grandsons.