I would like to preface this with saying that dad didn't want a funeral which with his personality still surprises me. His wishes were to be cremated and buried in Nathanel Lutheran Cemetery north of our place. We will be doing that next spring, and as of yet, unknown time.

Milo Andrew Downing (known as Junior or J R to many even though he recently told me he never liked Junior), was born in Bowman, ND on March 22nd to Milo H. and Agnes (Pederson) Downing. The 3rd of 6 six kids he grew up on the family farm north of Ludlow. He attended grade school at Cox and graduated high School in Bowman in 1960. He worked a variety of jobs in high school such as ushering at the movie theater and working at the Texaco station. The one he never cared for was the bowling alley where he manually reset the pins. He talked about how some people would really launch the ball and the pins would fly everywhere. When he would get home it would take forever to fall asleep because he could still hear the crashing of ball and pins. After high school he spent a time working for Harvey Priest stuccoing houses and even some stuccoing at the Scranton Elevator. In 1965 he was called into service. After training in Ft. Leonardwood and Ft. Rucker he was sent to Vietnam where he spent a tour as a helicopter mechanic. After returning home in 1967 he went back to the farm. In 1977 he bought the farm from his parents who retired to Bowman but were always out helping him. A bachelor for most of his because he was "too poor to get married" he met the love of his life Barbara (Nadeau) Downing in 1985. Married January 10th 1987, they welcomed 3 children; Myla, Staci and Mark.

I remember him telling me of all the years he trailed his cows to his units in the Grazing Association. He was the furthest north member, but they had his cattle usually in the farthest south because his cows trailed so well. It took about 3 to 4 days. In the early 90's he sold his cows, equipment and units in Grazing Association inorder to buy land that was close to him. It raised a lot of eyebrows, but he made it happen with a "lot of hard work, shithouse luck and a very good banker" and called it one of the best decisions he made. This was one of the many times he "retired" but concluded recently that in this business "You don't retire, you just get tired." After I decided I wanted to ranch too, in 2016 and bought some cows, he figured he should too, and ended up buying 75 bred heifers that were due middle of February. He just happened to head to Arizona a couple days before they started calving to beat the storm. He did check in though to ask how it was going and inform me how cold it was down there (60* F) while it was 30 F here. Teasing aside, he was out almost every day helping me raising cattle and teaching all that he knew. Haying time was his favorite and he could spend hours running a hydraswing going in circles. I still don't know how he did it at his age even on the days when he wasn't feeling well. He said he never had a hobby and work was all he knew. Luckily in the early 2010's dad was able to find a way to relax by finding a place in the little town of Topock, AZ to spend the winters. Him and mom could open their garage door and go riding in the desert. True to his nature he made a friend of many and acquaintance of many more. In 2010 my sister dropped off a beagle and weiner dog cross puppy which I named Snoopy of course. Everyone loved Snoopy, but dad thought of him as one of his own. I often joked to people that Snoopy replaced me as favorite son despite being his only one. He took him everywhere and would sneak him a scrap from every meal. Mom said they couldn't take him to AZ so that was one way to guarantee he wouldn't want to stay down there too long. Losing Snoopy in 2020 was one of the hardest things dad went through, but he'll be having a companion waiting to greet him. Dad was an outgoing people person who could make friends wherever he went. He especially enjoyed his afternoons at the coffee shops gossiping and playing cards. On Mondays he loved to go to the sale barn for a piece of pie and more gossip. He loved to tell me how things sold and how he should have bought something that was a good deal. I didn't know how I should write about a man who has lived a long and eventful life while keeping it short so I decided not to. I could probably write a book on him but figured this would do. Those who knew him before us have plenty more stories to tell that we haven't heard yet and we'd love to hear them. You will be missed dad and as always, we love you.

Milo was preceded by his parents, Milo SR and Agnes; beloved dog Snoopy; sisters, Susan

Kadrmas and her husband Glen, Evelyn "Becky" Seymanski and her husband Joe; sister-in-law Karen Downing

He is survived by his wife Barbara; children Myla (Dustin) Beeson, Staci Downing (Shane Brewer), Mark; grandchildren Delilah, Jaxon, Hendrix, and Henslee; brother Jim; sisters Norma Willems, and Marilyn Klein; multiple nieces and nephews.