Anna Belle Earley Downing, 88, of the Chicora Medical Center, formerly of East Brady, died at 9:30 a.m. Friday after a lengthy illness.

Born May 9, 1919, in Sherett, Armstrong County, she was the daughter of Burt Raymond and Anna Jane Amelda George Earley.

She was a longtime member of the East Brady Baptist Church, where she served as a deacon.

She enjoyed crocheting and crafts.

Mrs. Downing and her husband were longtime volunteers at the visitors' center in Clarion.

She married Charles Eugene Downing on March 20, 1937, in Wellsburg, W.Va., and he died April 7, 1997.

Surviving are six grandchildren, Julee Lynn Hamel and her husband, Mark, of Virginia, Joan Adele Muir and her husband, Randy, of Butler, Barry Summerville and his wife, Lori, of Chicora, Michael Summerville of Etters, Brandon Downing and his wife, Naoka, of Los Angeles, and Joshua Downing and his wife, Stacie, of Dallas, Ga.; 11 great-grandchildren, Stephanie Bullock, Lindsay and Kayla Thompson, Garrett Muir, Kaylee Marie and Charles Downing, and William, John, Cory, Curt and Katelyn Summerville; two great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Ramona Painter of Alexandria, Va.; two brothers, Francis Eugene "Twidge" Earley of West Chester and Harry Lowell "Hedge" Earley of Canonsburg; and a number of nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her three children, Judith Womeldorf, Carol Summerville and Charles Edward Downing; two sisters, Rose Marie McElravy and Margaret McKee; and two brothers, Lewis Allen Earley and Roy Lamonte Earley.

<B>DOWNING — </B>Friends of Anna Belle Earley Downing, who died Friday, July 6, 2007, will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the <B>Richard D. Hillis Funeral Home</B> in Petrolia. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the funeral home with the Rev. Thomas Pesci, pastor of East Brady Baptist Church, officiating. Burial will follow at Greenlawn Burial Estates, Mt. Chestnut.