Harry Downs

The Downs family mourns the loss of beloved husband and father, Harry Downs. Born in Greene, a small farm town in N. Central Iowa, he was educated at the Greene public schools and throughout his youth was involved in the Boy Scouts, eventually attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. He studied history at Iowa State in Ames Iowa, where he played the trumpet in the Sinfonia Orchestra. He then traveled eastward to Harvard Law School, where he earned his ID. in 1954. While at law school he sang with a close-harmony quartet, and later with a professional octet called the Two-By-Fours. Harry's beautiful tenor voice added joy to numerous family occasions. In 1953 he was inducted into an Iowa order of the Masons, proudly sponsored by his father. He went on to work in the legal department of Warren Brothers Co. rising through the department to become General Counsel. Early in his professional career he served as head of the Burlington Planning Board in Massachusetts, where he negotiated with Filene's to create the first covered shopping mall in the U.S. He was a member of the Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia bars, and in1967 was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. At Warren Brothers, he developed expertise in labor law, and testified on the subject of off-site picketing before Congress, which incorporated his language in their decision. A special interest in history and Constitutional law, on which subject he wrote a number of learned articles, led him join the Supreme Court Historical Society for many years. Always mindful of his roots, he joined the Greene Historical Society and was also a member of the English Speaking Union, and the Harvard Club of Atlanta. He worked as Senior Vice President with Ashland/Warren, and then with Ashland Oil in the capacity of Assistant to the Vice President. After retiring from his corporate position he joined the firm of Holland & Knight, as counsel, where he mentored young attorneys. Ten years later, he joined the firm of Crowley & Clarida, continuing analytical work on the kinds of complicated legal issues he loved to tackle. He lectured at Harvard Law School, Emory University and the University of Alabama, drawing on his extensive experience in the management of complex litigation. He also participated as a judge in entrepreneurial competitions at the University of Georgia Business School. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne (Gilman) Downs, and children, Laura Lee, Rebecca Kyler, Stuart Gilman and Sarah Cushing, and beloved grandchildren Jovan and Elijah. We wish to celebrate him and thank God for the blessing of his life.  Viewing will be Thursday evening, December 3 at A. S. Turner & Sons, 2773 North Decatur Road, Decatur, Georgia from 6 to 8 PM. Funeral service will be held at St. Michael’s Chapel at the Cathedral of St. Phillip, 2744 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta on Friday December 4, 2009 at 2 PM.