Ocie Downing

Ocie Evelyn Hartzog Downing, a resident of Westside Terrace and formerly of Ariton, passed away Thursday, March 30, 2017. She was 85 years old.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 1, 2017 in the Earl Bankston Memorial Chapel at Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home in Ozark with Brother Dave Walsh officiating. Burial will follow in Evergreen Freewill Baptist Church Cemetery with Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 1-2 on Saturday prior to service time.

Mrs. Downing was born February 9, 1932 in Evergreen, Alabama. She was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved flowers and working in her garden. Ocie also had a love for others and enjoyed helping people any way she could. For the past several years, her care givers and friends at Westside Terrace were her extended family. The love and support that they gave her was comforting and everyone was wonderful to her. Several of the staff even affectionately referred to her as "Their Baby." She enjoyed taking part in all activities to include being selected first runner up in the Miss Westside Terrace Pageant and dressing up as a pirate in their treasure hunt as well as other activities.

Mrs. Downing is survived by her daughters, JoAnn Thaxton of Birmingham, Sandra Strickland of Ozark, Audrey (Grant) Adkinson of Ariton; her sons Ronald E. Hartzog of Ozark, and Steven Downing of Brundidge; her brother Bobby Joe Barlow of Florida; grandchildren, Angie Thaxton, Alana (Tim) VanHauen, Jerald (Susan) Cook, Jeff (Amie) Cook, Kim Maund, Dwayne (Denise) Adkinson, Julie (Andrew) Slawson and Eric Hartzog; seventeen great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.