NEW MIDDLETON, OHIO – Richard E. Downard, formerly of East Liverpool, passed away Monday evening, August 19, 2024, at Masternick Memorial in New Middleton following a lengthy illness. He was 97 years old.

Born in East Liverpool, March 23, 1927, he was a son of the late Daniel Edward Downard and Isabelle Mercer Downard. A resident of the area all his life, he worked at the former Crucible Steel Company as an electrician until retiring in 1982. He was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret "Peg" Kimes Downard in 2023. The couple married December 7, 1946. He was also preceded in death by three brothers, Harold, Clyde and Lawrence Downard.

Survivors include two sons, Richard Downard and his wife, Shirley, of Toronto, and Ronald Downard and his wife, Debbie, of Elkton, as well as six grandchildren: Terri Lynn Davis and her husband, Dan, Amber K. Ginger, Michael E. Downard and his wife, Alayna, Diane Watson and her husband, Matthew, Erin Downard, and Joshua Downard and his wife, Mandi. He is also survived by eleven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, along with a sister, Dorothy Duplaga.