Duane Ervin Towns

Duane (Pete) Towns, 92, of Palm Harbor, passed away peacefully on June 16, 2025, with his wife of nearly 70 years, Evelyn by his side. He was born on November 24, 1932, Thanksgiving Day, in Winchester, IN to Delilah and Ray Towns.

Pete served in the US Army from 1952 - 1954, including ten months in Korea. After returning to Winchester, he began working as a production planner at Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation, retiring from its successor, Anchor Glass Container Corporation in 1995. Pete and Evelyn were married in Winchester in 1955. They were transferred by Anchor over the years to Waukegan, IL; Lancaster, OH; and Tampa, FL.

The family took many road trips over the years, sometimes to travel to Florida, the Smokies, Yellowstone, Washington, DC, or Niagara Falls. There were many more trips from Waukegan to Winchester to visit family. Linda and Natalie have many good memories from those trips. In later years, Pete and Evelyn took many more trips to locations in the US with friends, and other trips overseas. After retirement, Pete played golf with friends at Highland Lakes and was involved with organizations in that community. Both Pete and Evelyn went on a church mission trip to Merida, Mexico. In 2016, he participated in an Honor Flight with his grandson, Mark O’Leary, and in 2018, he and Evelyn participated in the Revisit Korea Program for veterans of the war, spending a week in South Korea. They both volunteered at the Palm Harbor Library and Pete enjoyed scouring the library shelves to read- and reread- historical fiction novels. Pete and Evelyn always enjoyed a good card game, playing weekly with friends for many years. Pete was an active member of Northwood Presbyterian Church in Clearwater and served on its session. He enjoyed his retirement to the fullest, appreciating early mornings with cinnamon rolls or gingersnaps, and his cat.

He was preceded in death by parents Delilah and Ray Towns, sister Jeanne McDaniels, and grandson Mark O’Leary.

He is survived by his wife, Evelyn of Palm Harbor and daughters Linda (Mike) O’Leary of Clearwater and Natalie (Jim) Brown of Hernando Beach, along with grandchildren Kevin (Laura) O’Leary, David O’Leary (Whitney Cox), and Kathleen O’Leary (Andrew Gorodetsky), and great grandchildren Shannon, Liam, and Erin O’Leary.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home. A memorial service will be held at Northwood Presbyterian Church in Clearwater on July 11, 2025 at 11:00AM. Flowers may be ordered from www.seasonsdesignstudio.com, or you may donate to the organization of your choice in Pete’s memory.

Condolences may be offered at www.sylvanabbey.com