DOWN, Ralph J., a Representative from Mercer County; born in Stoneboro, Mercer County, Pa., December 9, 1915; graduated, Sandy Lake High School; attended, Grove City College; attended, Shenango Valley Commercial Institute; staff sergeant, Air Corps, United States Army (1941-1946, World War II: Japanese Prisoner-of-War, 3.5 years; Bataan death march survivor); wholesale and retail hardware businessman; elected as a Republican to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 1953 term and served 5 consecutive terms thereafter; unsuccessful campaign for reelection to the House for the 1965 term; died, January 30, 1999 in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; interred, Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
