Edwin Allee Downs Jr.

   Edwin Allee Downs Jr., 88, of Pennington died Nov. 8 at Capital Health System at Mercer.
   Born in Trenton, he lived most of his life in the Pennington-Princeton area. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1938 and Washington & Jefferson College. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
   He received commission as an ensign in September 1941, serving aboard the destroyer USS Meredith. The Meredith escorted the USS Hornet during the Jimmy Doolittle B-25 raid on Japan. After two years of sea duty mostly in the South Pacific, he returned to the states to go through flight training. After receiving his wings, he was assigned to the fighter squadron of Air Group 13. After the war, he continued flying in the Navy Reserves at NAS Willow Grove, Pa., until 1961. During that time, he held command of one of the fighter squadrons for several years. He retired with the rank of commander.
   Mr. Downs worked briefly for CV Hill Company in Trenton before becoming a stock broker with Hemphill-Noyes in 1955. He retired from Merrill Lynch in 1983 after 28 years in the brokerage business.
   He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury; Princeton American Legion Post 76; former member of the West Windsor Lions Club; member of the Hopewell Valley Golf Club for almost 40 years; and member of the Retired Officers Association and the US Navy Tailhook Association.
   Son of the late Edwin A. and Grace Stults Downs and brother of the late Charles A. Downs who was killed during the Normandy Invasion in 1944, he is survived by his wife, Edwina Mayo Downs; a sister-in-law, Alyce Mayo of Louisiana; two nieces, Jacqueline Falk and Catherine Falk Rothchild of Louisiana and an extended family of cousins.
   A Memorial service will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Wilson-Apple Funeral Home, Pennington Circle, with the Rev. Louis Mitchell, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, officiating.
   Interment will be Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Brainerd Cemetery, Cranbury. Friends may call Wednesday from 10 a.m. until time of service at the funeral home.
   In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the SAVE Princeton Small Animal Rescue League, 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton, 08540.
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