She was preceded in death by her parents Bernice Ervin Groome and Eugene Joseph Groome, her brothers Eugene Joseph Groome, Jr. and Billy Revelle Groome, Sr., and daughter Karen Virginia Downs. She leaves behind children Robert Wallace Downs (Bettie), Jr., Joseph Eugene Downs (Lynne), and Lori Claire Jones; and grandchildren Cole Jones, Chris and Ryan Downs, Daniel Downs, Ethan Downs, and Katherine Downs.
Jennie was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1925. Primarily raised by her mother and aunts, Evelyn, Martha, and Marjorie, in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Great Depression, Jennie found resilience and joy through the love of her family, music, and her deep faith in Christ.
Jennie and her mother moved to Washington, D.C. where Jennie was employed as a switchboard operator. While there she began to sing in small venues trained only through her singing at home and in church choirs. Jennie later married Robert Wallace Downs in Memphis, Tennessee at her father’s home in what is now Midtown Memphis. Within a few short years, her first two children Robert and Karen were born. The family then moved to Broomfield, Colorado where Jennie sang and acted in the Community Little Theater and where her third child, Gene, was born. Her fourth child, Lori, came after the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. For each of her children, Jennie was heavily involved in school activities to include being a room mother. And wherever she lived, Jennie’s home always had a piano which fed her love of song, primarily hymns.
Throughout her life, Jennie remained active in the local Christian church, often singing in the choir, attending Sunday school, and encouraging her children to pray. Throughout a difficult childhood and later raising her own children largely alone, Jennie grew in grace, strength, and love rooted in a deep faith in God. Her faith, family, song, and dance brought her tremendous joy throughout her long life.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2024 from noon until the start of the funeral service at 2pm at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38119. Donations can be made in Jennie’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.
