Obituary of Henrietta Constance Downey

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Henrietta Constance Downey

November 23, 1913 – April 13, 2019

Henrietta Laszewski was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin to Leo Laszewski and Bertha Tetzloff Laszewski. Henrietta was one of ten children born to the Laszewskis: six sisters and four sons. One sister, Lorraine Godfriaux, and one brother, Roy Laszewski, survive Henrietta.

Henrietta decided to come to Oklahoma in the mid-1930s. Upon arrival in Tulsa, she lived at the YWCA and soon became a nanny for a local doctor’s children. She met and married Ray Downey, and they lived in Collinsville for some years before moving to a farm between Collinsville and Owasso.

In 1946, Ray and Henrietta purchased a farm on East 76th Street North in Rogers County (located about five miles east of the small town of Owasso with a population approximately 250 at that time). It was in this home that she resided for the remaining seventy-three years of her life.

The couple had five children: Joyce Nelson who along with her husband Danny reside in rural Wagoner County, Oklahoma; Johnny Downey of Owasso; and Leona Bays of Catoosa. She was preceded in death by two of her children: Robert Wayne Downey (1952-1954) and Sandy Starr who passed away in the 1990s. Her husband Ray passed away in 1997. Henrietta is survived by four grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by two grandchildren.

Henrietta was an accomplished baker. She worked for Borden’s cafeteria at their Northland facility making pies for several of their locations in Tulsa. She also was employed by the Owasso Public Schools cafeteria for several years and a nursing home. 

After moving from the Highway 20 farm closer to Owasso in 1946, she became a faithful member of Owasso Assembly of God through the 1960s and thereafter as much as her age and circumstances would allow where her father-in-law, Lee Downey, was one of the first three deacons chosen by the church when it officially became affiliated with the Assemblies of God in September 1943. She was active in teaching Sunday school and other church activities.  

Several words give insight into Henrietta’s character and outlook on life: hard work, laughter and a sense of humor, perseverance, and longsuffering. She was truly a remarkable and resilient 105 year old lady. She will be missed by her family and all that came to know and love her over the years.