William Down

WILLIAM "BILL" DOWN , a former resident of Freeville and Homer, died suddenly September 1, 2006 in Mesa AZ. Bill was born October 20, 1931 in the Hudson Valley region near Mount Marion NY in his grandparents' farmhouse, and attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade. After graduating from Saugerties High School, he entered an engineering apprenticeship program with General Electric in Schenectady NY. During his 19 year tenure with GE, Bill helped develop airborne and ground based radar systems, sonar systems, and missile guidance systems. He left GE to work as Chief Engineer for one of the nations' first commercial cable TV systems, Cerrache Cable in Ithaca. He later worked for Magnavox

(Craftsman Electronics) in Manlius NY and LRC Electronics in Elmira, developing line amplifiers, connectors, and filters for coaxial cable distribution systems. As a pioneer in the cable industry, Bill held several patents.

Bill was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy in 2000. He is survived by his five children - Richard Down of Atlanta GA, Michael Down of Freeville, Kevin Down of West Milford NJ, Elizabeth Epstein of Atlanta GA, and Maureen Cochran of Naperville IL; and ten grandchildren Abraham, Andrew, Stephanie, Amy, Ross, Daniel, Matthew, Eli, Eden, and Corey Lynn.

Mr. Down's family will be present to receive their friends from 4 to 6 PM Friday, October 20, at the Perkins Funeral Home, 55 West Main Street, Dryden. Interment services will be conducted Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006 at 11 AM in Willow Glen Cemetery, Dryden. Those wishing to remember Bill are asked to consider memorials, in lieu of flowers, to the Dot Down Scholarship for Education, c/o Dryden Central School, P.O. Box 88, Dryden, NY 13053-0088.