Pete & Diana Downey Family & Global Downey-Parks Website

Downey Downunder Reunion 2009

After much delay, we've finally put a few pictures and videos from our August 2009 Australian trip.  Peter and Helen Downey have been hard at work on a DVD, which they've shared with Clare Downey in the old home town of Koroit.  Downey Downunder Reunion 2009

1st Row:  Robert Kilmartin, TBD, Maria Downey Tierney, Tina Downey Cummins, Helen Downey, Diana Downey, Pete Downey, Clare Downey, Allison Downey

2nd Row:  Emily Dols, Joe Dols, Peter Downey, Denny Walsh, Peter Downey (the Younger). Mike Downey Tom Cummins, Brian Downey, Sharon Downey

Riley Rose Downey Baptism - June 28, 2009

Yeah!!!  Now I'm a little Christian!!! 

A Loving Farewell to Marguerite Downey Dunn

Marguerite Dunn died Thursday, June 11, 2009 in Des Moines surrounded by her beloved family.  She was 87, passing away just a couple of weeks before her 88th birthday.

The large attendance at her visitation Sunday night in Carroll, Iowa, and at her Monday, June 15, funeral at Holy Spirit Church in Carroll, attested to the impact that this wonderful lady had on her world. 

She was born July 3, 1921, at Wall Lake, grew up there, graduated from Wall Lake High School in 1938 then earned an elementary teaching certificate at Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls.  She was always proud of her family and the joy of teaching.  With 3 girls and 5 boys, she had opportunity for lots of teaching moments.

Marguerite is now with her beloved husband, Joe.  She was the last of a generation of Downey's, joining father, Leo Downey, mother, Agnes Maher Downey, and brothers Joe, John, and Tom. 

She was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Wall Lake beside husband Joe, and son Mike, who passed earlier this year. 

Marguerite was my godmother, and through the years I really cannot recall a harsh word.  Like Grandma Agnes Downey, Marguerite would always scold or admonish with an Irish twinkle in her eye.  In fitting tribute, Father Timothy Johnson led a round of Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-rah at her wake.  Kathy Dunn Kubovich led us in a round of Irish Eyes Are Smiling at the lunch following the Funeral Mass.

Marguerite's passing gave us an opportunity to catch a group picture of the Downey-Dunn Cousins.  As we now become the new generation of family elders, we promise those who have gone before us, to honor and pass on the values which they passed to us.   We honor the greatest generation as they continue to live on in our memory - Joe and Mary, Joe and Marguerite, John and Margaret, Tom and Mary Kay.   You taught us how to sing and enjoy family as the greatest of life's blessings.

We cannot duplicate the beauty of Mary Dunn Hayward's piano and Kristie Tigges' solo for the Irish Blessing at Mass.  But the voices of the clip below are a wee bit reminiscent of the Downey-Dunn Family Singers, not especially beautiful, but always loud and with feeling. 

To Marguerite and all of our loved ones who have gone to God before us...May the Road Rise with You.   Pete Downey, The New Old Guy

The Downey-Dunn Cousins and Singers

L to R Bob Downey, Ed Downey, Anne Downey Dols, Mike Downey, Mary Rose Downey Wieland, Tom Dunn, Mary Dunn Hayward, John Dunn, Pat Dunn Kuntz, Mary Dunn Kubovich, Bill Dunn, Sue Downey O'Sullivan, Dan Dunn, Bill Downey, Pete Downey

Welcome to Riley Rose Downey

Welcome to Riley Rose Downey, born at 1:31 AM, April 21, 2009, weighing 8.0 lbs, 21.5" long.  She has her Dad's dark hair and brown eyes.  Proud parents Kristy and Matt Downey are glad she's here after a long day at the hospital.  Both grandmothers, Diana Downey and Jamie Skipworth were there to help.  We all welcome our first grandchild with loving arms.  More pictures...

Happy Easter...

We want to wish a Happy Easter to all the members of our extended family.  We hope each and everyone will take this opportunity to contemplate our Saviour's death and celebrate his Resurrection.  We hope that in this time of challenge and uncertainty, you will take the time with your loved ones to count God's many blessings.

Waiting for Riley Rose

In the household's of the Detroit Downey's, Anne Geddes feeds our imagination as we await for the blessing of a new life, Riley Rose Downey.  She's still on time for an Easter arrival on April 12, Joe Downey's birthday.  The doctor says she's getting bigger, and Kristy says she's certainly ready to get this show on the road.

Diana and I have spent weekends, along with her maternal grandmother, Jamie Skipworth, in helping Matt and Kristy get Riley's room ready.  Michele took some vacation days off to paint a mural of Alice and the White Rabbit to top off the Alice in Wonderland theme of Riley's room.

Now it's all waiting with anticipation.  Whatever the day of her birth, we'll all welcome her with open arms.  As we become grandparents for the first time, you'll find Riley's first pictures right here.

P.S.  Jamie, a University of Michigan grad and rabid fan, beat me to the punch in getting Riley her Michigan outfit before I could get one from Notre Dame.  But a careful look at the picture above will show Jamie wearing the ND on her sweatshirt given to her by her son-in-law.  This should be an interesting competition as Riley grows up.

Remembering Marian Walsh, February 27, 2009

It was with much sorrow that we received word of the passing of Marian Walsh this morning.  Denny and daughter, Sharon, were with her at the end.

Our deepest condolences go out to Denny and the whole Walsh family.  Her family Christmas portrait shows the lives that Marian has influenced, just within her immediate family.

To all of those who knew and loved Marian, she was truly "Good People." 

Marian Walsh Arrangements

Good People

In my family, when we wanted to give the highest compliment to someone, we would always say they were "Good People."

We lost one of our Good People today after her long struggle with breast cancer.  Marian Walsh was truly Good People.

She was there for Aunt Bee when she needed her, and as Aunt Bee always used to say she "could always depend on Marian."  Pete and I were always grateful that Aunt Bee had Marian and Denny close.

I remember over the years, at whatever the family event, I would always think…I hope Marian is there.

My first thought, when I found out about the extent of her illness was…the family will be greatly diminished by her passing.  Then I started reading her Caring Bridge blog that her daughters, especially Sharon, would keep us up to date on Marian’s illness, and then inevitably her decline.  I realized that when you are Good People as Marian was, you just can’t help it, you raise Good People.  Our family, although diminished by Marian’s loss, have her family to carry on in her footsteps

Good Bye Marian say hello to Bee for us.

Diana

Marian Walsh Arrangements

Visitation

Monday, March 2, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church

Vigil Service

Monday, March 2, 7:00 p.m.

St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church

Mass of Christian Burial

Tuesday, March 3, 10:00 a.m.

St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church

See Caring  Bridge website for more details http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marianwalsh

In Remembrance of Mike Dunn, Oct 6, 1951 - Feb 5, 2009

It is with sadness that we received news from John Dunn on the passing of our Downey  cousin, Mike Dunn.  John had written earlier that Mike had gone into a coma and the family had given him "permission to join his dad, Joe."  Our condolences go out to his mother Marquerite, his brothers and sisters, and whole family. Visitation will be in Carroll, IA with funeral at 10:30 AM Monday,  Obituary and arrangements

Remembering Mike...

Remembering Mike...

Those of us cousins, who Marquerite called the "city boys," remember those summer visits with the "Dunn boys," and those fearless horse rides, galloping through the corn fields on the Dunn farm, west of Breda, Iowa.  It was always exciting, but a little more fearful for us city boys, hanging on tight and hoping to not fall under all those flashing hooves surrounding our horse.  Mike was the quiet one, but a leader in fearlessness when it came to horses. Our memories of Mike will live on forever.  - Pete

We hope all had Merry Christmas and are having a Happy New Year

I'll make a New Year's resolution to try to keep the web site up better with family events as we move into 2009.  We had our whole family over for Christmas Day with Jeff, Kevin & Michele, and Matt & Kristy.  We show Tessa doing her Guard-dog duty before we opened presents. Our big news is the impending birth of Riley Rose Downey in mid-April to Matt & Kristy.  Diana already has a full nursery ready, and Matt and I assembled the new baby bed at his and Kristy's house.  We plan to have a painting party in Riley's room, followed by the Superbowl.

Australian Reunion Travel Dates are Set...all are invited...more to follow

We've set the dates for our Australian Trip and family reunion.  Diana and I plan to leave the US on Wednesday. August 5. 2009, arriving on Friday morning, August 7.  We'll return, return Saturday, August 22.  Mike Downey and Tina Cummins are gathering the Des Moines travelers and Irish travelers respectively.  We will fly into and depart from Melbourne, Tina indicates that the Irish will be traveling the weekend of the 8th and 9th, so we have figure out a time when we'll all be in country and recovered from jet lag.  Then we'll do a reunion.  Peter and Helen have sold their home where the Kangaroos roam, but they'll take the leadership for a great reunion gathering of the Australian, Irish, and American Downeys.

Tina Cummins insists that we need to also travel to Perth to meet our Downey cousins there.  So we'll tentatively travel to Perth for a gathering on the weekend of August 15-16, and return to Melbourne.  Details to be determined for Perth.  The air distance is 1,700 miles from Melbourne to Perth, but airfares appear to be reasonable.

We plan to return to Melbourne, and then home on Saturday, August 22.

Diana is tracking through Mike Downey and Tina Cummins, but if anyone else is interested, please contact Diana at celtgrace@aol.com.  We'll create a link to a separate page, and we'll keep this site updated as things firm up.

Congratulations to Troy and Veronica

As we speak of Australia, we have a wonderful picture from the December 5th Wedding of Peter and Helen Downey's daughter Veronica to new husband, Troy.  We have more pictures of the beautiful bride, her new husband, and wedding festivities on-line at http://www.flickr.com/photos/htsebring/sets/72157611769528833/

Of course, the seasons are reversed, so as we are in the midst of a snowy winter here in the US< we get a glimpse of summer down-under. 

Welcome to Norah Anne Hogan, Daughter of Theresa and Mark Hogan

Therea Dols Hogan passed on pictures of her little Norah, born October 8th.  She was 7lbs 7 oz at birth and 20.5 inches.  She has now grown to over 10 pounds and is a healthy little girl.  Theresa tells us that this picture of Norah in her blue dress is of Norah smiling for Grandma Anne Dols.  Our Congratulations to Kevin and Theresa as Norah's, and to Anne and Joe Dols as her proud Grandparents.  Another picture that we'd love to have is the smile on Anne's face when Norah smiles at her.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Tom and Leslie Parks

We attended Tom and Leslie's Wedding on September 13 in Lansing.  In spite of a little wet weather left over from the hurricanes, everyone had a great time.  We have published videos of the Wedding Ceremony with more to come for the reception.  We need a few good photos of the wedding for anyone to mail to celtgrace@aol.com

Our Family History Vacation

During the first two weeks of July 2008, Diana, Jeff, and Pete took a family history vacation back to the early days.  Our first stop was in Old Bedford, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Towson Parks was born...Parks Family History.

In Remembrance of George Spanopoulos...

Sometimes, you meet people with whom you immediately bond through their zest for life.  We had this feeling as we met Michele's new cousins-in-law, George Spanopoulos and his lovely wife, Mary, as they helped lead the celebration of Kevin and Michele's wedding on July 26th. 

George introduced himself as a cousin to Kevin's mother.  He spoke with pride of his years as a toolmaker for General Motors.  He had obvious pride in son, Chris, who's band had made the music CD for the Macedonian Dancing, a centerpiece of the wedding celebration.  Daughter, Violetta, took their picture as they celebrated together. 

George and Mary still carried a touch of the old country, and Mary spoke of teaching her children the traditional dances.  We watched with envy as they did the Macedonian Dances so well with the rest of the extended Thomas family.  We felt comfortable as George and Mary welcomed us as new cousins. 

It was with great sadness, that we learned of George's passing on Thursday, August 7, 2008.   He had fallen from the roof while adjusting a satellite dish, a natural task for a toolmaker.  Even though we knew him for only a short time, it was clear that he had enjoyed a rich and full life of love and pride in his family and his work.  We share our sympathy and prayers for our new cousin and his wife, Mary, children, Chris, Violetta, Patrice, and 7 grandchildren.  We were privileged to share a last celebration before he was to pass on to yet a greater celebration above.

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Kevin & Michele Thomas

Kevin & Michele Thomas exchanged wedding vows on July 26, 2008.  We had a beautiful wedding and fun reception.  We've been able to get up some quick video for those who could not attend....to Kevin & Michele Thomas Wedding.

Remembering Mary Kay,  February 19, 1938 - June 10, 2008

Diana and I attended Mary Kay's Whetstine's funeral in West Bloomfield, Michigan on June 14, 2008. 

I knew Mary Kay for almost 50 years, having had the privilege of being an altar server at her wedding to Tom Downey.  After Tom's untimely death, it took truly amazing courage to take her young son, Tom Jr., and forge a new life in the Detroit area as she taught her beloved music to generations of young students.  She raised young Tom to become a fine husband to Diane, father to two of her grandchildren, Tom and Christina, and successful engineer and business executive. 

Diana and I had the opportunity to celebrate the wedding of her daughter, Molly, to Ray Trevino a couple of years ago at Henry Ford's Fairlane home in Dearborn. 

With a call from Diane Downey, it was with great shock and sadness that we learned of Mary Kay's passing after a month's illness.

My Diana best summarizes her funeral celebration:

"It was sad, yet triumphant , all in one wonderful funeral mass.

 

"When we entered the church, the first person I saw was Diane Downey, holding Molly's new baby. A new life smiling and reaching for the sunbeams.  The second person I saw was Molly, who told me the one thing getting her through the day is that her mother finally got to be with Tom, the man Mary Kay never stopped loving.  I thought it a wonderfully generous thing for her to say about her mother and Tom.

 

"I went into the church during the visitation for just a few moments alone.  At the front of the church was a portrait of Mary Kay, and a portrait of Tom placed next to each other.  A bouquet from the Iowa Downey's rested below, fitting tribute to the two, who had grown up in Wall Lake.

 
"In leading the prayer of the faithful, Pete almost broke down when it came to praying for the soul of his uncle Tom, as he was finally rejoined with his bride.

 

"The priest, a man who knew Mary Kay, Tom and Diane, talked of Mary Kay finally being with Tom, and how joyful she must be.

 

"Son-in-law, Ray Trevino, spoke of the lesson on the importance of family, learned from Mary Kay.  Tom III spoke the truth about the loss of his and Christina's grandmother.  It was a triumphant moment when Diane said to me when leaving the luncheon, 'I hope Tom and Mary Kay are dancing in heaven.' - Diana"

During a visit to her home in Garden City many years ago, Mary Kay lamented that she wished she could have played the piano with Tom.   While our deepest sympathies go out to those who are left behind, we only wish to Mary Kay and Tom, who gave the gift of music and singing to the world and to our family....We hope you dance and have a joyful songfest around the old piano.  We're sure the Wall Lake singers, who have gone before, will be glad to join in once again. 

Pete 

Obituary and Sign Funeral Home Guestbook

Congratulations to Kate and Tim Downey, April 5, 2008

Diana and I were able to attend Kate Fredenberg's wedding to Tim Downey, oldest son of Janet and Mike Downey.  A number of our Irish relatives attended and brought delightful weather to St. Paul, Minnesota.  More pictures and video...

Guess Who's Turning 90?

An important event took place on March 25, 1918 as Lee Parks entered the world.  Lee's children, Lee, Diana, and Janine threw a 90th Birthday Party at the Methodist Church in Brookville, Ohio on March 15, 2008.  Dad and Mom Parks, along with their 3 Children and spouses, 8 Grandchildren with 3 spouses and 2 fiancées, 2 Great Grandchildren, plus Nephew Bill Parks from Chicago, and a lot of good friends attended.  Before the celebration, we had a good time collecting and scanning pictures to compose a Video on Dad and Mom's life that we played at the party.  We all wish Dad a Happy 90th Birthday on Tuesday.  We all love you, Dad, and we were glad that we could be with you for your 90th Birthday Party ... Love, Diana    More pictures

Welcome to the new generation

Bill Downey sent pictures of his new Grandson, Andrew Han.

Not to be outdone by cousin and friend, Bill Downey, Denny Walsh sent a picture of new Grandson, Anthony Walsh,  Then Denny really got busy, sending a picture of another new grandson, Christian Matson, and then pictures of new cousins Gabrielle Lan Lawler and Darby Rose Leyboldt.  Denny points out that Ethel Downey Lawler now has 4 new Great, Great Grandchildren in a period of 2 Months.  Sounds like a challenge to Leo Downey's Great Grandkids. 

We had so many new births, that we had to put them in their own folder.  Click the links above to see their individual pages.

Tessa's First Winter in Michigan

Tina Cummins writes that the daffodils are sprouting at Carrigmore Farm.  We told Tessa that flowers were sprouting in her native Ireland, and she began digging for signs of Spring as she continues to enjoy her first Winter in Michigan...more pictures.

Congratulations to Kelley & Jon Crosbie

Kelley and Jon Crosbie were married in Des Moines on Saturday, December 29, 2007...more Pictures & Videos

Mary Rose with Granddaughter Grace Elizabeth Stone

Mary Rose Wieland sent us pictures of the proud grandmother with newborn Grace Elizabeth Stone, daughter of Jennifer and Peter Stone.  Grace Elizabeth is now over 3 months old.  Congratulations to all. 

Diana Stone and Roger Barrillas Engaged

Mary Rose also told us that daughter, Diana Stone, and Roger Barrillas are engaged to be married on August 16th in West Liberty, Iowa.

This is the fourth wedding for the Iowa Downey's this year.  As Mary Rose says, it must be the year of romance in Iowa. 

MIke Downey's son Tim's Wedding is in April, Bob and Susie Downey's daughter Rachel is being married in May, and Ed and Jo Downey's daughter, Christine is being married in June. 

And on the Parks side, we have a Tom Parks wedding in September.

July is still open if anyone is interested. 

The Mitchell Twins

Proud Grandparents Jan and Dick VanMeter sent Christmas pictures of their two new twin grandsons, Nolan Domenec and Wesley Xavier Mitchell, shown here with parents Megan and Brian.  More Nolan and Wesley...

Bill and Jeanne Downey Family

Bill and Jeanne sent a Christmas picture of their family.  With Jeff and Maggie Potter's new twins this year, they are now up to 5 Grandkids. 

Parks-Romick Family Tree

Diana has been an amazing Googler and user of the Latter Day Saints site as she's able to recognize and bridge broken links in her family tree, now extending back to the Mayflower.  The Parks-Romick Family Tree is now stored on a separate Celtpride site.  Family History Vacation.

Archives

 A Visit to the Air Force Museum

Pete & Diana's Trip to Ireland, July 2007 - McManus Family History & Carrigmore Visit

Downey Family Tree Illustrated Family Tree of Cousins...Currently the Cashel Reunion Cousins...to be expanded...eventually.

Matt Downey ...American Soldier Video from the front lines...to Kristy Help

 JD