Tia Shuri Townsend

Tia was born March 3, 1991 in Everett WA. and passed away March 28, 2002 in Shoreline at age 11. She is survived by her loving father, David G. Townsend of Shoreline; mother, Tamatha Kennedy of Umatilla, OR; grandparents, William ?Bill? and Sylvia Townsend of Shoreline. Visitation Friday, April 5, 12:00PM-8:00PM, Evergreen-Washelli Funeral Home, 11111 Aurora Ave N. Seattle. Funeral service Saturday, April 6, 11:00AM; Westgate Chapel, 22901 Edmonds Way, Edmonds, WA. Please sign an on-line memorial at www.evergreen-washelli.com

Tia?s Life

On March 28th Tia was unexpectedly taken from us. Tia was a typical rambunctious young lady. She was filled with dreams of becoming a veterinarian, and helping people. She was shy, sweet, and yet full of spunk. An illustration of her maturity and also her innocence could be summarized in two illustrations. After the Sept. 11th attack, she, two friends and an uncle went around the neighborhood and collected food, which David Townsend her dad and they took to the local Gospel Mission. Another time, Tia, while playing with another cousin, Loren Townsend, was seen to be concerned with the welfare of a frog that they were playing with. It seemed in distress so she decided to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Tia attended Ridgecrest Elementary School in the Shoreline School District. She enjoyed camping and outings with her cousins, and many friends. Her favorite animals were dogs. She was saving to get a poodle. She had made charts on how much it would cost to feed and provide for the dog. She had thought about the need for a fenced yard, etc.

She was very concerned that she does the right thing for this dog.

This is typical of what Tia was like. We love you and will miss you deeply.

A Tribute to Tia

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper.

Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, ?This is for you, Daddy.? He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, ?Don?t you know when you give someone a present, there?s supposed to be something inside it'? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, ?Oh Daddy, it?s not empty, I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.? The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later and it is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for many years, and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us as humans, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, friends, family, or God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

Author Unknown