Residence: Monticello, Indiana
Died: Friday, September 07, 2012
Location: 4:04 a.m., at her residence in Monticello, Indiana.
 
 
Age: 86
Date of Birth: Saturday, June 12, 1926
Birth place:

 

 
Father: Ceryl B. Downen
 
Mother: Ethel ( Ford ) Downen
 
Marital Status: Widowed
Resided in: Lived in the Monticello, Indiana, community since 1991.
Funeral Date: Monday, September 10, 2012
Funeral Location: 1:00 p.m., Celebration of Life Services at the Monticello Christian Church, 1002 Airport Road, Monticello, Indiana 47960
Clergy: Rev. Chris Dodson of the Monticello Christian Church of Monticello, Indiana,
Burial will take place:
Hughes Cemetery in rural Monticello, Indiana.
Visitation will be:
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday, September 10, 2012, at the Monticello Christian Church, 1002, Airport Road, Monticello, Indiana, 47960.
Biographical Information:
Martha passed away from complicatons from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). She was the fifth (5th) of six (6) children of a farm family in Sullivan, Indiana. That farm and that family sent Martha, as well as everyone of her brothers and sisters, to college, in Martha's case, to Purdue University, where she jitterbugged to big band swing and studied home ec and speech and hearing. After graduation, Martha landed a job as a therapist in the New Albany, Indiana, public schools. Around Halloween of 1952, she said "yes" to a first date with Milo Eiche, a math teacher at the local junior high. Martha and Milo wasted no time. By Thanksgiving of that year, they were engaged. By Christmas, they had wed. A son, James, came alone in 1954; a daughter, Suzanne, completed the family in 1956. Every few years, as Milo's school career flourished, the Eiche's moved. From New Albany, they ventured to distant Westchester County, New York, for a couple of years before hurrying back home again to Indiana, first to suburban Indianapolis, then to the Bloomington area, then to Bluffton, then Plainfield. Along the way, Martha made sure the family households were handsome and proper while cultivating her own interests in needlepoint, quilting, antiques, and ice cream. When Milo retired, Martha and Milo moved one more time, to Monticello, Indiana, where Suzanne was by then raising a family of her own. The pair built a comfortable house on a bluff overlooking the Tippecanoe River and lived there together for twenty (20) years before, sadly, Martha lost Milo in 2011. Martha was a faithful member of the Monticello Christain Church of Monticello, Indiana.
Special Services:
Memorial Information: Memorials may be given to the Monticello Christian Church Memorial Garden of Monticello, Indiana. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home and at the church.
Marriage Information: On December 21, 1952, in New Albany, Indiana, she married Milo L. Eiche. He died Wednesday, March 23, 2011.
Survivors include:
Son, James M. (wife Melody) Eiche of New York, New York;Daughter, Suzanne (husband Bob) Downey of Monticello, Indiana; Grandchildren,Megan Elizabeth Downey of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pete (wife Kristen) Downey of Plainfield; Great Grandchild due September 29th;Sisters, Doris Branstetter of Crawfordsville, Indiana, and Ruthanne (husband William) Garlic of Lancaster, Kentucky; Brothers,Carl (wife Margaret) Downen of Crawfordsville, Indiana, and John (wife Zina) Downen of Maderia Beach, Florida
Preceded in Death:
Parents, Ceryl B. and Ethel (Ford) Downen;Husband, Milo L. Eiche; Brother, Earl Downen.
Arrangements by:
Miller-Roscka Funeral Home, 6368 E. US 24, Monticello, Indiana, 47960 - ( 574 ) 583-8488,