Miller County Liberal

Dolores M. ‘Dee’ Downs-Gazzola ObituaryFree Access


dolores m. ‘dee’ downs-gazzola 

Dolores M. ‘Dee’ Downs-Gazzola, age 91 of Atlanta, died Sunday, October 23, 2022.  

Dee was born on November 22, 1930 in Colquitt to Watson and Grace Miller.  She graduated from Miller County High School.  Dee attended GSCW in Milledgeville, where she was a member of Max Noah’s A Cappella Choir.  Dee loved singing so much that over the years she was asked to sing in over 20 weddings.  She then finished her schooling at The University of Georgia.  Dee met her husband, Al Downs at a Phi Beta Phi Sorority Dance.  Al was in the US Army for 20 years.  Dee loved traveling around the world and always said they were fortunate to be stationed in some of the best places in the world.  Her favorites were Verona, Italy and Oahu, Hawaii.  When Al retired in 1973 they moved back to his hometown of Conyers. Al passed away in 1994.  Dee was fortunate to find love a second time around and married Larry Gazzola in 2003.  Dee and Larry danced their way through the next two decades until Larry passed away in 2020.  Dee loved travel so much she took her children and her grandchildren on a trip every year.  She also loved spending time with family and friends at her Ponte Vedra Beach condo.  Many beautiful memories for her entire family were made in Ponte Vedra.

Dee is a member of the Conyers Presbyterian Church and is survived by daughters, Dana Downs and Leigh Downs Hebbe (husband, Bill); granddaughters, Ella Grace Downs (husband, Joey Pepper), Amanda Hebbe Lord (husband, Conner Lord), and Erin Hebbe (fiance’, Nathan Ostroot); and great-grandson, Silas Ostroot.  She is also survived by her stepdaughters, Liz Brazeau and Jennifer Parker (husband, Todd); many loving nieces and nephews.  Our mother, Dee Downs-Gazzola gave us our love of travel and the joy of laughter – lots of laughter.

Graveside services will be held Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 2 p.m. at East View Cemetery with Rev. Kevin Hicks officiating.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org.  Condolences may be submitted on-line at www.scotward.com. Scot Ward Funeral Services, 699 American Legion Rd., Conyers, GA, 770-483-7216.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.