William Downey's Obituary
Mr. William George Downey “George”, of Pleasanton, CA, age 82, died June 11th, 2020 after living many years with congestive heart failure.
George is survived by his wife Mary Downey, daughters Alison Downey and Karen Deal, granddaughter Hannah Downey, great-grandson Samson William, and son-in-law John Deal. He was preceded in death by his brother Jack Downey of Upland, CA and his sister Doris Amaral of San Ramon, CA
George was born August 1st, 1937 in Los Angeles, CA to parents William K. Downey and W. Jean Downey (nee Burnside) The family first moved to Alameda county when George was 6 years old, and he remained a resident of the county until the time of his death.
George attended San Leandro High School in San Leandro, CA. where he participated in ROTC and upon graduation, he became a Marine Corps Reservist. George accepted a position with Pacific Bell and worked there many years while raising a family, eventually retiring from Pac Bell.
George married Mary Allison in 1966, and the couple had 2 daughters. They bought a home in Livermore, CA and continued to live there for over 30 years.
George was a long-time member of The Independent Order of the Odd Fellows, belonging to the Alameda, Berkeley, and Hayward lodges. He has spent many happy hours at his lodge and has many dear friends there.
George enjoyed a wide variety of interests. He was a lifelong member of the NRA. He loved cameras and photography. He enjoyed history and genealogy, eventually building quite a large family tree. He shared a love of cars, trains, airplanes, and coin collecting with his father Bill and brother Jack.
Though never a “world traveler” George always loved a car ride on the backroads, a trip through the California redwoods, and spending time in Hawaii. George was so taken by Hawaii he had a large collection of Aloha shirts and often greeted people with “Aloha”. George loved to make corny “dad jokes”. His daughters report, when they were growing up, Sundays were reserved for “Bad Jokes and Pancakes”.
Those closest to George will remember him as friendly, kind, quick with a funny comment, and always wanting to help people out. In later years George put his creative talents to making little favors for people with a small pinwheel and a label which read “Put your happy thoughts on the four winds”, and that was certainly his philosophy
To ensure the health and safety of our community, we are following all guidelines set by local, state and CDC officials. If you are planning on attending a service, please contact the funeral home in advance, so that we can plan accordingly.
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