Daniel Charles Downing

Dan Downing lived to be in the wild of Montana, his happiest adult days were spent exploring, hunting, fishing, and floating mountains and rivers and at his cabin near Rogers Pass. He was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1971, enjoying football and fishing before beginning his life in Montana in 1993.
Dan was a dedicated Chicago Bears fan, inspired by Walter Payton. He served in the Air Force National Guard in Great Falls. As a career Fisheries Biologist, Dan helped manage and restore fisheries all over Montana, the longest for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in the Big Hole Valley and most recently for the Bureau of Land Management in Missoula. He had a captivating smile, a kind heart, and will be dearly missed.
His legacy will continue in his three children, Claudia (17), Claire (15), and Milly (6) and in the many happy memories he left us. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Downing, his father and step-mother Charlie and Karen Downing, brothers Billy and Kevin Downing, Claudia and Claire’s mother Jill Downing, and many, many loving family members and friends. He is preceded in death by his mother, Barbara Ann Downing.
Memorials may be made to carry on the legacy of his family at any branch of First Security Bank or subsidiary in the name of “Family of Dan Downing”.
A casual service to gather, remember, and celebrate Dan’s life will be held Friday, April 13, 2018, from 1-4 pm at Garden City Funeral Home in Missoula, Montana.