Benjamin Downard

Benjamin Scott Downard, 43, of Hillsborough, North Carolina and formerly of Cartersville died on October 13, 2009 at his residence. Born February 23, 1966 in Lima, Ohio, he was the son of Janet L. Cummins and the late Melvin L. Downard, Sr.



Survivors include his son, Andrew Scott Downard of Cartersville; his step-son, Joshua Andrew Fehr of Hillsborough, North Carolina; his mother Janet Cummins of Lima, Ohio; his brothers and sisters, Stephen Downard of Van Wert, Ohio, Melvin Downard Jr. of Shawnee, Ohio, Jacob Downard, Cynthia Lane of Leesville, South Carolina, Carolyn Gagliostro of Lugoff, South Carolina, Robin Hamm of Kernersville, North Carolina, Rebecca McDaries of Lima, Ohio, Constance Kosiak of Kokomo, Indiana, and Julie Bartholomew of Bluffton, Ohio; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.



Ben attended Delphos Jefferson High School and graduated from Elida High School in 1984. He distinguished himself in the US Army, 82nd Airborne, Ft. Bragg, NC as a single channel radio operator. After his military service years, Ben was employed Cartersville Police Department as a dispatcher. He later studied computer technology at North Metro Technical Institute. Ben then went to work for the Bartow County School System as a Technology Specialist. Most recently, he was employed by Durham Public School System as a Workstation Technician. Ben�s favorite activities were spending time with his son Andrew, photography, mountain biking, and camping.



Funeral Services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 23, 2009 in the chapel of Parnick Jennings Funeral Home and Cremation Services. Burial with full military honors will be in the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia.



The family will receive friends from 6 � 9 p.m. Thursday at Parnick Jennings Funeral Home and Cremation Services. Instead of flowers, family members are requesting that donations be made to the Andrew Downard Fund, 9417 Horse Creek Run, Kernersville, NC 27284.



Parnick Jennings Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 430 Cassville Rd., Cartersville, GA 30120 is serving the family of Benjamin Downard.