Obituary

Obituary

William B. Downes III, 82, of Norristown and formerly of Hanover, died Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at Pine Run Health Center, Doylestown. He was the husband of the late Lorraine A. (Diller) Downes, who died April 9, 1990.

Born April 12, 1926, in Hagerstown, MD, he was a son of the late William B. and Elizabeth A. (Bixler) Downes.

Mr. Downes was a founding member of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Audobon, PA. After graduating from Hanover High School, he served his country during World War II as a veteran of the U.S. Army. Mr. Downes went on to receive his B.S. in Accounting from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was employed throughout his working life as a CPA with Tait, Weller & Baker in Philadelphia where he was partner. In his free time, Mr. Downes enjoyed relaxing on his family farm and studying the stock market.

Surviving are two daughters, Susan P. Moister of Perkasie, PA, and Cynthia M. Wapner and her husband Mitchell of Lexington, VA; two sons, William C. Downes and his wife Cheryl of Carlisle, and Jeffrey S. Downes of Norristown; ten grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one brother.

The funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, November 1, 2008 at the Wetzel Funeral Home, 549 Carlisle St., Hanover, with Rev. E. Edward Keyser officiating. Viewing will be held between 10 and 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Hanover.

Serving as pallbearers will be William C. Downes, Jeffrey S. Downes, Mitchell Wapner, , Ben Moister, Nate Wapner, Abe Wapner, William D. Downes, and John Patalak.

For those desiring, contributions may be made in Mr. Downes’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association of South Central Pennsylvania, 3544 N. Progress Ave., Suite 205, Harrisburg, PA 17110.

To share memories of Mr. Downes, please click on "Sign Guest Book" above.

A video tribute celebrating Mr. Downes's life can be viewed by clicking the link below, then click the photo to play the tribute video. (Special Note: If you have firewall protection installed on your computer, it must be disabled in order to play the tribute.  Macintosh systems need Windows to use the tribute viewer).