Sena Marie Downing 1984-2009

STEGEN, HANSON, DOWNING, FORDE, PERRY

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 9/26/2009 at 20:32:24

Sena Marie Downing

Sena Marie Downing, age 25, of Clarksville, TN died Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at her home. Funeral Service was held Saturday, September 12 at Big Canoe Lutheran Church, Decorah, with Pastor Dave H. Andreae officiating. Committal was in the Iowa River Cemetery.

Sena Marie (Hanson) Downing was born April 12, 1984, the daughter of Roger and Lila (Stegen) Hanson, in LaCrosse, WI. She was baptized at Big Canoe Lutheran Church and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon.Sena attended Allamakee Community Schools in Waukon and Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. She was an excellent waitress, working at Café Deluxe, ChoSun’s, and T-Bocks this past winter, along with Old Chicago in Clarksville, TN.

Sena married Jon Downing in Clarksville, TN July 15, 2005. She was a terrific cook and enjoyed using herbs and spices as she cooked. She loved her big white German shepherd, Jack, and enjoyed going hiking and biking in the mountains. Sena also enjoyed gardening, raising flowers and growing her great grandmother’s calla lilies.

Sena is survived by her husband, Jon Downing of Clarksville, TN; her father, Roger Hanson, Jr. of Waukon; four brothers, Joseph Stegen of Decorah, Dan Hanson of Waukon, Jeremiah Stegen of Waukon, and Chris Stegen of Iowa City; and her maternal grandparents, Lyle and Helen Stegen of Decorah.
Also surviving are her aunts and uncles, Lee (Jenny) Stegen of Waukon, Lloyd (special friend Amanda Winters) Stegen of Dorchester, Brian (Sue) Hanson of Waterloo, Shelley (friend Jerry Hageman) Sutton of Decorah, Craig (Randi) Hanson of Decorah, Bruce (Kaleen) Hanson of Waukon, and Julie (Gerard Young) Hanson of Dallas, TX; her great-aunts and uncles, Dr. Jim (Jerilyn) Forde of Moorhead, MN, Robert (friend Jackie) Perry of Minneapolis, MN, Sharon (Maurice “Butch”) Tomczak of Madison, WI, Avis Magnuson of Brown Deer, WI, Beverly Hanson of Sauk City, WI, Paul Hanson of Waukon, Don (Martha) Hanson of Waukon, Lyle (Virginia) Hanson of Decorah, Robert Hanson of Waukon, LaVonne (Jack) Bussey of Sacramento, CA, Dorothy (Dave) Christen of Wadena, Arla Schmitt of Independence, and Arlan (Lois) Stegen of Cedar Rapids; her great-great-aunt, Agnes Forde of Decorah; along with numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Sena was preceded in death by her mother, Lila Stegen, in 1997; her paternal grandparents, Roger and Karen Hanson; her maternal great-grandparents, Lloyd and Harriet Forde, and Mabel Stegen and Arnold Stegen; and her paternal great-grandparents, Carmen and Clarice Hanson and Robert and Clarice Perry.

Casketbearers were Dan Hanson, Jake Stegen, Chris Stegen, Joseph Stegen, Lee Stegen and Lloyd Stegen.
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Area native shot to death in Tennessee;
Army husband charged with homicide

The death of a northeast Iowa native and former student of the Allamakee Community School District is being ruled a homicide in Clarksville, TN and her soldier husband has been taken into custody and charged with Criminal Homicide. Clarksville is located in Montgomery County just northwest of Nashville, near Tennessee's border with Kentucky.

According to a release from the Clarksville, TN Police Department, officers from the department responded to a welfare check around 3:17 a.m. Tuesday, September 8 at the home of Jonathan and Sena Downing, where they discovered the body of 25-year-old Sena Marie Downing, who had been fatally shot inside the garage of the residence. An investigation quickly developed her husband, 31-year-old Jonathan Clyde Downing, as a suspect.

The report further indicates that Jonathan Downing had left the scene and was later found in a wooded area in neighboring Robertson County, about 20 miles away from the crime scene. He had abandoned his 2007 Ford Explorer and, at first, resisted coming out of the woods but later surrendered and was taken into custody and is being held without bond in the Montgomery County jail.

Sena Downing is the daughter of Roger Hanson, Jr. of Waukon and the late Lila (Stegen) Hanson. Having lived with her grandparents, Lyle and Helen Stegen of rural Decorah, after her mother had lost her life in a motor vehicle accident in 1997, Sena attended the Junior High and Senior High schools in Waukon as a freshman and sophomore. She and Jonathan had married in July of 2005.

"We are saddened to hear of the loss of one of our former students, Sena (Hanson) Downing," commented Allamakee Community School District Superintendent of Schools Dave Herold. "Teachers remember Sena as a good kid with a bubbly personality that was well liked by other students. We send our condolences to her family and friends."

Jonathan Downing is a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who had recently been transferred to nearby Ft. Campbell in Tennessee. He had served two tours of duty in Iraq, returning from his most recent tour about a year ago. Originally from California, Jonathan Downing and his family moved to the Decorah area, where he graduated from Decorah High School in 1995. His parents have since moved back to California.

A full obituary for Sena Marie (Hanson) Downing appears on Page 3A in this week's issue of The Standard.

Waukon, Iowa newspaper, THE STANDARD, September 16, 2009.
Contributor is not related and has no further information.

Allamakee Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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