Ronald Cameron Downie

Ronald Cameron Downie died peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, on November 10, 2017, in Nokomis, Florida. He was born on February 6, 1935, in Elmsford, New York, to Scottish immigrants Olive (Piggot) and Alexander Downie.

In 1953, he graduated from Pottstown High School and matriculated to Penn State University, where he was a member of the freshman football team. He later attended Ursinus College. On July 22, 1954, he married Dixie L. Shirey in Arlington, Virginia. They had two girls: Bonnie Downie, of Pottstown, and Sherri Downie, of Birdsboro.

He later married Constance Mae Hall, in Pottstown, on April 22, 1964. They had three children: Heather (Downie) Kurtz, of Pottstown; Lia Downie, of Nokomis, Fla.; and Ronald Andrew Downie, of Pottstown. They lived for many years on North Evans Street before moving to Florida in 2016.

Ron was a pillar of the Pottstown community. He served on both the Pottstown School Board and on the Pottstown Borough Council. He served as president of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and as chairman of the Pottstown Borough Authority.

Ron was a lifelong writer and regaled anyone who would listen with his poetry.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Andrew Downie, of Succasunna, N.J. He is survived by his wife, five children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

A public memorial service will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, June 16, 2018, at the amphitheater that bears Ron’s name in Pottstown’s Riverfront Park. A reception will follow at The Carousel at Pottstown. If you have a story about Ron or a poem you would like to share, please contact the family at RonDowniePoetry@gmail.com.