Pat Downs has been the face of the United Way of White County for 29 years. She retired at the end of March as executive director of the organization, which raises funds for 16 nonprofit agencies.
“I told the board I was resigning, not retiring,” said Downs, 75, smiling. “I am not going to quit working; I could never sit home and do nothing. But after 29 years, it’s time for someone else to do this job.
“I am very grateful for the past 29 years with the United Way and all of the agencies I’ve worked with,” Downs said. “I’ve been blessed to have met so many wonderful people — so many volunteers — through my work. These agencies are there to help the citizens of White County.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to have served the United Way of White County all these years. It has been a blessing for me. I will miss it.”
The United Way of White County honored Downs with a reception April 9 at Unity Heath-White County Medical Center.
“I’ve known Pat all my life,” said James Horton, president of the local United Way Board of Directors, during the reception. “She has been a tremendous asset for our community and has had the heart of White County at the forefront of her life for the past 29 years.
“Pat has done an amazing job,” Horton said. “During her years at the United Way, she helped raise over $11 million for our agencies.”
On behalf of the board of directors and the agencies it serves, Horton presented Downs with a gold-and-diamond pendant engraved with the United Way logo.
State Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, presented Downs with a Senate Citation during the reception.
Linda Pratt, assistant director of Newhope Specialized Industries, was among the many United Way agency representatives at Downs’ retirement reception.
“She is the heart of the United Way,” Pratt said. “You can call her anytime, and she will do whatever she can for you. We have been with the United Way ever since it started in White County.”
Dan Newsom, executive director of the White County Single Parent Scholarship Fund, called Downs “the face of the United Way of White County.
“She’s a blessing to the community,” he said. “She has a deep passion for people in need and worked tirelessly for them. We will miss her.”
Gary Laney was president of the board of directors when Downs applied for the United Way job in 1989.
“I hired her,” Laney told visitors at the reception. “We were in a difficult situation. I can’t tell you how many hours Pat spent getting us back on track.
“We had no computer system,” he said. “She had to get that set up. She has quite a work ethic. I think most people realize that now. She has dedicated a good part of her life to this community.”
Downs said Laney and the board “had the patience of Job dealing with me during those first few months. I came in and found a stack of bills waiting for me,” she said, laughing.
“The former director, Bonnie Schaff, was in the hospital when they hired me. She passed away during the first week I was on the job,” Downs said.
“Leon Matthews, president of United Way of Pulaski County, was a great mentor to me,” Downs said. “The board told me all they knew to tell me was to call around and get advice. I called Leon and absorbed like a sponge everything he told me. He was so patient with me. He told me I needed to get the ‘movers and shakers’ — high profile people — on my board.
“I started attending state meetings and getting to know other United Way directors. Our United Way started growing, and it grew and grew. I have continued to work to help it grow for these past 29 years.”
Downs was born in Searcy but was raised in Judsonia, a daughter of the late S.A. “Buddy” Burke Jr. and Floy Mae Westbrook Burke. Downs had one brother, Charles Burke, who died recently.
“My parents were married 63 years. They died three weeks and three days apart, in 1969. My dad lost an arm during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II and received a Purple Heart. He wore a prosthetic for the rest of his life,” Downs said.
“After the war, they bought a store — Burke’s Grocery Store — and operated it for many years,” she said.
“That’s where I learned to work. I worked there every day after school. They had a service station with the store; I could pump gas, check oil and clean windshields,” Downs said.
“When I was about 15, I got a ‘real’ job,” she said, laughing. “I worked at Ben Franklin [five-and-dime store in Searcy] during high school. I also played basketball. Life was hectic, even back then.”
Downs graduated from Judsonia High School and attended Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, now the University of Central Arkansas, where she was a home-economics major.
“I wanted to be a decorator,” she said.
She also took night classes at Arkansas State University-Beebe.
Downs dropped out of college and got married before she finished her degree.
She and her husband, the late Edward McFerrin
Downs Jr., who died in 2009, were married in 1965. Ed Downs, an Air Force veteran and a retired farm-equipment sales manager, was from Memphis.
“We had a son in 1966, Edward McFerrin Downs III, who lived for 36 hours,” Pat Downs said. “We thought we might never have any more children. I developed a rare blood disease (disorder) after he was born. They thought I might have leukemia, but it turned out I had ITP — idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. I had my spleen removed and recovered. Later on, we had three daughters.”
Their oldest daughter, Edie Hightower, 49, lives in Searcy with her husband, Jeremy, and their daughters, Ashlynn, 15, and Allie, 9. Edie teaches English at Searcy High School. The Downses’ middle daughter, Patti Pence, 48, lives in Searcy with her 12-year-old son, Dallas; she is a counselor at Searcy High School. The couple’s youngest daughter, Ferrin Vest, 40, lives in Searcy with her 12-year-old daughter, Merritt. Ferrin is an emergency-room nurse at Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock.
“My family has supported me all these years,” Pat Downs said. “I missed a lot of family events because of the job. I appreciate them so much.”