Person Page 15

Billie Jane Downing

Parents

Billie Jane Downing, High School Junior Photo

• Billie Jane Downing was born on 12 December 1921 in Byers, Clay County, Texas, United States.¹
• She appeared on the 1930 census in the household of her parents in Justice Precinct #2, Wichita County, Texas, United States. Enumerated in this household were:
  1. Downing, Oscar; renting at $10 monthly, owns radio, age 48, worked in oil fields, not a veteran.
  2. -----, Mollie; age 42.
  3. -----, Nellie; age 14, attending school.
  4. -----, Billie J.; age 8, attending school.²
• Billie was living in Union County, New Mexico, United States, on 1 April 1935.³
• She was educated at Bowie High School between 1938 and 1939 in Bowie, Montague County, Texas County, United States.⁴
• She appeared on the 1940 census in the household of her parents in Montague County, Texas, United States. Enumerated in this household were:
  1. -----, Oscar, age 58, he worked as a farmer for 50 weeks on his own account, he received more than $50 doing other work.
  2. -----, Mollie, age 52. .
  3. -----, Nell, age 23, marital status is divorced
  4. -----, Billie Jane, age 18, attending high school.³
• Billie was living in Frederick, Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States, in 1942.⁵
• She and Edward Louis Johann Jahn were married on 6 December 1942 in Frederick, Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States, This couple planned to renew their vows on their 50th wedding anniversay but Billie Jane was ill around that time so they renewed their vows after 51 years. They filed for divorce in Oct 1993 so they could get remarried on Dec 6 1993.^5,6,7
• In 1948, Billie resided at Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. She is listed with the same address as her mother-in-law, Antoinette Jahn. It is believed that Billie Jane's daughter, also named Antoinette Jahn, age about 4 years, is living here. Ed, Billie Jane's husband, was not listed in the household.⁸
• She died on 11 August 2012, at age 90, in Temple, Bell County, Texas, United States.
• Her obituary was published in the Temple Daily Telegram on 13 August 2012 in Temple, Bell County, Texas, United States. "Billie Jane Jahn, 90, of Temple, passed away Saturday, August 11, 2012, at her home. A funeral service will be 10 a.m., Wednesday, August 15, 2012, at Harper-Talasek Funeral Home, Temple. Burial will be 12 p.m., Thursday, August 16, 2012, in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Mount Vernon, TX. A visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, August 14, 2012, at the funeral home.
  "Billie Jane was born in Byers, Texas, to the late Thomas Oscar Downing and Molly Verona Kennemer Downing. On December 6, 1942, she married Edward Louis Jahn, Sr. in Frederick, Oklahoma. Billie Jane was a registered nurse for 53 years, working with various facilities. In 1993, she retired from Scott & White Hospital. She also earned a Ph.D in Nursing Education. Billie Jane was a member of the First Baptist Church in Temple. She loved the Joy Singers, a Senior Choir and the Triple L Senior Social Club all part of the First Baptist Church.
  "She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward, Sr., on November 9, 1998; sons, James Thomas Jahn and Thomas Leitha Jahn; sisters, Olive Gertrude Downing-Hall and Jerri Nell Downing-Cannaday; and one grandchild.
  "Billie Jane is survived by daughters, Antoinette Jahn Millslagle and husband, Richard, of Aguanga, CA and Janette Jahn, of Temple; son, Edward Louis Jahn, Jr., of Shreveport, LA; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; several nieces, nephews; and a host of dear friends.".⁹
• She was buried on 16 August 2012 in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Franklin County, Texas, United States.⁹

• Last Edited: 20 June 2019

Citations

1. [S38] Texas, Montague County, 1940 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images, gives ages as 18 and born in Texas., T627, roll 4108, Justice Precinct #18, enumeration district (ED) 169-19, sheet 8A, household 159, Oscar Downing, accessed 17 May 2014
2. [S314] Texas, Wichita County, 1930 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images, 1. Downing, Oscar; renting at $10 monthly, owns radio, not on a farm, age 48, aged 22 at first marriage, not attending school this year, able to read and write, born TX, father, TX, mother IL, worked in oil fields, not a veteran.
   2. -----, Mollie; age 42, aged 18 at first marriage, not attending school this year, able to read and write, born TX, father AL, mother TX.
   3. -----, Nellie; age 14, attending school, able to read and write.
   4. -----, Billie J.; age 8, attending school, able to read and write., T626, roll 2410, Justice Precinct #3, enumeration district (ED) 243-4, sheet 90A, p. 70, dwelling 210, family 221, Oscar Downing, accessed 16 Apr 2017
3. [S38] Texas, Montague County, 1940 U.S. census, Ancestry.com, Digital images, T627, roll 4108, Justice Precinct #18, enumeration district (ED) 169-19, sheet 8A, household 159, Oscar Downing, accessed 17 May 2014
4. [S269] School Yearbook. Digital images., "The Jackrabbit (Bowie High School, Bowie, TX), 1939," U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2013 (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1265 : accessed 30 May 2019)
5. [S285] Oklahoma., Oklahoma County Marriages, 1890-1995. Digital images., 21: 56, Downing-Jahn, 6 Dec 1942, accessed 24 Mar 2017
6. [S303] Texas Department of State Health Services, "Texas, Divorce Index, 1968-2011," database, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., Ancestry.com, accessed 31 Mar 2017), Billie Jane Jahn.
7. [S293] Ancestry.com, compiler, "Texas, Marriage Index, 1814-1909 & 1966-2011," database, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Ancestry.com, accessed 31 Mar 2017), Billie Jane Downing; Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas.
8. [S16] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1995. 2011. Digital images., Omaha, Nebraska, 1948: 240;
9. [S339] Find A Grave, digital images, accessed 30 May 2019, Billie Jane Downing Jahn, 95344168.