G. E."George"Townsend

G.E. "George" Townsend died March 26, 2012, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after a brief illness. He was 86. Mr. Townsend was born on November 9, 1925 in Gamble, Alabama, the son of Southern Railway engineer James Earnest Townsend and schoolteacher Mary Hylence (Jordan) Townsend. A standout lineman at Walker High School, he played football for Arkansas A&M at a time when WWII and the Officer's Training Program made it a powerhouse. He graduated in engineering and began his long Navy career. While attending the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, Mr. Townsend met high school English teacher Betty Ann Topp. In August 1958 they were married in the French Parlor of San Francisco's Palace Hotel. "My life changed suddenly and forever," Mrs. Townsend later said. The couple moved to Long Beach, California, to the first of many temporary homes on both sides of the Pacific. Mr. Townsend's varied and distinguished naval career included combat off the waters of Korea and Vietnam; serving as a military advisor to the armed forces of Taiwan (Republic of China); directing activities related to the Vietnam War in Okinawa, Japan; and serving as one of the last Operations Officers for the Bay Area-based 12th Naval District. He earned numerous military ribbons and awards. In 1973, Commander Townsend retired to South Louisiana to teach high school ROTC and pursue his other life-long athletic interest: golf. Nearly ambidex- trous, he would often play with matched sets of leftand right-handed clubs. He became a Shriner; he performed with the Baton Rouge Little Theatre; he was a parishioner at Baton Rouge's Trinity Episcopal Church. Regarding Mr. Townsend's name, or rather the lack thereof: immediately after his birth in a mining company town, his mother was asked if he would be George Earnest, to honor his father, or George Ezekeial, to honor his grandfather. She responded, "Yes." It all seemed fine, and there was much other work to be done. For Mr. Townsend, there was always much to be done. Mr. Townsend is survived by his wife Betty; son Mark Harold Townsend and grandson Benjamin Lockman Townsend Mark, both of New Orleans; brother Donald Ray Townsend, of Dora, Alabama; and sister Rosa Mae Townsend Williams, of Houston, Texas. He is predeceased by brothers James Ralph Townsend and the Reverend Kenneth R. Townsend, Sr.; and sister Ann Townsend Young. A memorial service and burial will occur at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Donations may be made to the LSU Health Foundation: lsuhscfoundation.org.