Conductor Edward Downes and wife Joan die in assisted suicide clinic
Renowned conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife, who died together in an assisted suicide clinic, were devoted to each other, the musician’s manager said.
Paying tribute to 85-year-old Sir Edward and 74-year-old Lady Joan Downes, Jonathan Groves said the couple’s decision to end their lives at the Swiss organisation Dignitas was “typically brave and courageous”.
The pair, who had been battling serious health problems, died peacefully at the clinic in Zurich on Friday, their family said. Birmingham-born Sir Edward, who worked with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Opera House, was almost blind and had suffered hearing loss.
Mr Groves, who had known the conductor for 35 years, said: “It was a shock to all his friends and colleagues because it was something he and Joan planned very much within their family.
“None of us were aware this was going to happen until after they had died.
“It was very typical of the way he lived his life. I do not think there is anyone anywhere who has lived his life with more self-determination than Ted (Sir Edward) did. The decision he and Joan made to end their lives in the way they did was a very typically brave and courageous decision. They were absolutely devoted to each other.”
Mr Groves, from management company Ingpen and Williams Ltd, said Lady Downes, a former ballet dancer, had become “very ill” and Sir Edward was suffering the ailments of very old age.
