Ella Downs Seaberry

Ella Downs Miller Seaberry, 83, passed away Friday, July 25, 2008. Memorial Service will be held 10:00 a.m., Friday, August 1, at Arbor Retirement Community, 1103 Jameson St., Weatherford, followed by a graveside service in Eastland City Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, gifts and donations may be made to the Nancy Seaberry Frost Arts Endowment, 6337 Locke Ave., Ft. Worth, TX 76116. Ella Downs Miller Seaberry was born August 2, 1924 at Baylor Hospital in Dallas to John C. Miller and Moselle Webb Miller of Albany. Downs attended Albany public schools, later transferring to Hockaday School in Dallas. Known both in Albany and Hockaday for her singing voice, she played the original Lottie Deno in Albany's celebrated Fandangle. Downs graduated from Hockaday in 1943. After living and working in Dallas, she returned to Albany. Downs married Virgil T. Seaberry, Jr., on September 26, 1953. They lived in Eastland for fifty years, leaving their indelible mark both as a couple and as individuals. The focus of Downs' life was service to others. She served as longtime president of the United Presbyterian Women's Association, as longtime president of the Eastland County Child Welfare Board, as treasurer and volunteer worker for the Eastland Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, as member and officer in the Eastland Civic League, and as stage manager for the Eastland Little Theater. She organized the Eastland High School Reunion so long and so well that she received an honorary diploma. Her public achievements are notable for their unselfish nature, but even in her private life, she worked to help those in need. Downs moved to Weatherford in 2002 to be near her ailing husband and quickly became a vibrant member in the Arbor House retirement community where she was known for her optimism and generosity. Downs is preceded in death by her husband, Virgil, and her parents. Survivors include her brother, John (Jack) C. Miller; children, Judy Downs Seaberry and Nancy Seaberry Smith; son-in-law, Stephen Smith and dear family friend Barbara Knoll; grandchildren, April Seaberry Hickman and John Edward Seaberry; great-granddaughter, Ella Magnolia Hickman; niece and nephews, Christopher Frost Whiddon, Cyrus Seaberry Frost, James Stewart Frost, John Matthew Frost, Downs Miller Paul, John Copeland Miller, Jr., Kendall Miller Aberg; numerous great-nieces and nephews; cousins, John Matthews of Albany, Sam and Ellen Webb of Abilene, and Dub Miller of Dallas; and by a host of friends who remember and love her.