Patsy Ruth Ford Townsend

Born January 8, 1929 in Gaston County, she was the daughter of the late Boyce Lee Ford and Merle Huffman Ford. Pat was a long time member of Mt Olive Lutheran Church in Hickory and worked as a Red Cross volunteer at Frye Regional Medical Center for thirty years.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Frances Ford Elmore.

Pat is survived by her husband of 67 years, Robert E “Bob” Townsend of the home; son, Kelly L. Townsend and girlfriend, Tiny Riddle of Hickory; brother, John Henry Ford and wife Helen of Florida; nieces, Linda Ford Aiken of Atlanta, Glenda Deal of Valdese, Mary Beth Ford Rembert of Atlanta; and nephew, Richard Elmore of Florida.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2015 at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Hickory with Rev. David Keck officiating. A graveside service will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. prior to the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Cemetery Fund, 2780 N. Center Street, Hickory, NC 28601.

We would like to extend our thanks and deep appreciation to the staff and residents at Trinity Village for the compassionate care and love they gave to Pat and our family. We would especially like to thank Tiny for her love, support and devoted care she gave Pat throughout the years.