Downing Family Suffers Losses


By Dagmar Fors Karppi

The Downing family recently lost two of the men in their family to ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, and are hoping that research can find a cure for it. Sandra Downing Fierman, the daughter of the late Paul Downing said, "There's a Walk to Defeat ALS that will take place in Eisenhower Park, Sept. 27, in which many in my family will participate, in memory of my family members."

She said that the ALS website has a lot of information: http://www.alsa.org/. "Stony Brook Hospital has a wonderful ALS Clinic. Stony Brook, The ALS Association, and the East Norwich Fire Co. were very supportive and helpful emotionally," said Ms. Fierman.

She added, "Ironically, I just watched a whole biography of Lou Gehrig the other night on TV."

The Downing family has roots connected to East Norwich since 1804. Richard Downing who wrote the first history of East Norwich owned the property where the huge Black Walnut tree once stood, which became a symbol of the hamlet. Eventually, the house located off Route 106 south of Route 25A was passed down to Walter P. Downing and Mary Edith Downing, who were the last of the Downings to move out of East Norwich in 2005.

Mrs. Downing is currently living in an assisted living facility in Plainview. Sadly, she recently lost her two sons, Richard G. Downing and Paul Downing who both passed away a day apart of each other at the end of December 2007. They suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's Disease, which was the same condition her husband Walter Downing had in the 1960s. "Unfortunately, there is a familial form of ALS that runs in the family. At least they're not suffering any longer. Both brothers lived full lives, and the family has many memories to last them a lifetime. Mrs. Downing was saddened and taking the news in stride understanding that it is probably better they are not suffering from ALS any longer. Though frail, she is a strong lady," said her granddaughter Sandra Downing Feirman, Paul's daughter. "We're very grateful to the ALS Association, Stony Brook ALS Clinic, and the East Norwich Fire Company for all of their generous support," she said.

Paul Downing's obituary said:

Paul Downing of Deer Park and formerly of East Norwich, died on December 30, 2007. Beloved husband of Marlene. Loving father of Sandra Feirman, Amy Scher, Amanda and Suzanne. Cherished son of Edith. Fond grandfather of five. Dear brother of Richard G. and Nancy Brown. Veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Volunteer of the East Norwich Fire Company. Retired employee of Newsday. Bus driver of Deer Park Schools. Member of Back In Time Cruisers Car Club. Donations may be made in his name to: ALS Association or Babylon United Methodist Church. He was buried at the Brookville Cemetery on Jan. 4, 2008.

Richard G. "****" Downing's obituary said:

Richard G. "****" Downing of Dallas, Georgia and formerly of East Norwich, died on December 31, 2007, of ALS. Cherished son of Edith and the late Walter. Beloved husband of Brenda Jarvis. Loving father of Richard (Janet), William (Karen) and John (Karen). Adored grandfather of Holly and Shaun. Dear brother of Nancy Brown and the late Paul. Former husband of Mary Price. He served in the National Guard for five years; ex-chief and 47-year member of the East Norwich Fire Department; honorary member of the Mason's Matinecock Lodge #0806; and the East Norwich Kiwanis Club. The funeral was arranged by the Oyster Bay Funeral Home. Interment at the Brookville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the ALS Association or the East Norwich Fire Department. For further information or to send condolences go to www.oysterbayfuneralhome.com


Another Loss

Additionally, the Downing family suffered another loss in mid-December. Vincent Brown. He was the husband of Nancy Brown, the sister of Paul and **** Downing. He suffered from a recently discovered cancerous brain tumor. Vincent Brown grew up in East Norwich where he and Nancy met and became Oyster Bay High School sweethearts.


Lou Gehrig's Disease

Ms. Fierman said, "I'm interested in raising awareness about ALS, as many people have never heard of what it is or entails." The ALS web site said, "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron disease, first described in 1869 by the noted French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. Although the cause of ALS is not completely understood, the last decade has brought a wealth of new scientific understanding about the disease that provides hope for the future."


ALS Cuts Short Lives

The site states, "Lou Gehrig first brought national and international attention to the disease in 1939 when he abruptly retired from baseball after being diagnosed with ALS. Most commonly, the disease strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time. ALS has cut short the lives of other such notable and courageous individuals as Hall of Fame pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Senator Jacob Javits, actors Michael Zaslow and David Niven, creator of Sesame Street Jon Stone, television producer Scott Brazil, boxing champion Ezzard Charles, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player George Yardley, pro football player Glenn Montgomery, golfer Jeff Julian, golf caddie Bruce Edwards, British soccer player Jimmy Johnstone, musician Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), photographer Eddie Adams, entertainer Dennis Day, jazz musician Charles Mingus, composer Dimitri Shostakovich, former vice president of the United States Henry A. Wallace and U.S. Army General Maxwell Taylor.

"Three classifications of ALS have been described:

• Sporadic - the most common form of ALS in the United States - 90 to 95 percent of all cases.

• Familial - occurring more than once in a family lineage (genetic dominant inheritance) accounts for a very small number of cases in the United States - 5 to 10 percent of all cases.

• Guamanian - an extremely high incidence of ALS was observed in Guam and the Trust Territories of the Pacific in the 1950s.

"The most common form of ALS in the United States is "sporadic" ALS. It may affect anyone, anywhere. "Familial" ALS (FALS) means the disease is inherited. Only about 5 percent to 10 percent of all ALS patients appear to have the genetic or inherited form of ALS. In those families, there is a 50 percent chance each offspring will inherit the gene mutation and may develop the disease."

http://www.antonnews.com:80/oysterba...08/02/29/news/