British conductor Edward Downes dead at 85; he and wife end lives at Swiss suicide clinic

Conductor Edward Downes dies at 85 in Swiss clinic

LONDON — The family of British conductor Edward Downes and his wife say they have died at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.

The family says the 85-year-old Downes and his 74-year-old wife Joan died Friday “peacefully and under circumstances of their own choosing” at a Zurich clinic run by the group Dignitas.

The family said Tuesday in a statement that Downes had become almost blind and increasingly deaf. His wife, a former dancer, choreographer and television producer, had devoted years to working as his assistant.

The family says that “after 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems.”

Dignitas is declining to comment from its office near Zurich.