John Townsend
1952 - 2013 | Obituary
John E. Townsend, Jr. passed away on Tuesday June 11, 2013. Born on February 1, 1952 in Evanston IL, John was the devoted son of John and Eva; dear husband of Kathleen (née Eufemi); beloved father of Niles J. and father-in-law of Shannon Callahan; cherished grandfather of Nathaniel, Lilah and Mikayla; loving brother of Kenneth and Kathryn (Louis Komjathy), and caring uncle to nephews Kenneth Jr. and Emanuel. He is loved and missed by a large extended family. John was a 6th generation Chicagoan who dearly loved his wife, family and his native Chicagoland. Memorial service Wed, June 19, 2 pm at Christ Church, 784 Sheridan Rd., Winnetka IL 60093. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of John E. Townsend Jr. to Salvation Army, 5040 N. Pulaski Rd, Chicago IL 60630, Attn: Memorial Gift, or www.salarmychicago.org
Published in Chicago Tribune on June 16, 2013
In Memory of
John E. Townsend Jr.
February 1, 1952 - June 11, 2013
In Lieu of flowers Donations may be made in the loving memory of John E.Townsend, Jr. to:
Salvation Army
5040 N. Pulaski Rd.
Chicago, Illinois 60630
Attn: Memorial Gift
773-205-3525
www.salarmychicago.org
June 15, 2013
Dear Friends,
I am sad, indeed, to report the passing of John Townsend. This news was given to me last Wednesday by John's brother-in-law, who said that John had died early that morning. He underwent heart surgery on June 1, had progress well, and was sent home. However, John suffered a setback, had a subsequent surgery, did not recover and was taken off life support early Wednesday. Apparently the end was peace, when John was surrounded by his mother, wife, son, sister, brother and others.
Also, for those who can make it, I wanted to pass on the news about the service for John. It will take place next Wednesday, June 19 at Christ Church in Winnetka at 2PM. There will be a reception afterwards.
As you may see above, my email address file is badly out of date, so there may be people listed above whose addresses are not longer current. There are other people to whom I would have sent this news, but I do not have any email address for them. In the event that you have current email addresses for these people - and others who you believe would like to know about John and maybe go to the service next Wednesday, PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL.
John was a good friend, with whom I happily reconnected just before the Skokie Reunion ten or so years ago.. We have since stayed in touch and seen each other from time to time, most recently at a wonderful memorial for our friend Bob Edens. My favorite memories of John are playing in the Lords, Ltd. with him (Bob Edens, Mike Ball, with manager Gil Judson), but John and our gang wasted lots of time in so many other ways having fun together in junior high school and beyond. I will miss him, but cherish the memories.
Be well, Rick Bragdon
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John D. Ash
John, I still have your Rolling Stone club membership card that you somehow got for that long-gone R&R club in Winnetka. You gave it to me at some point so that I could get in underaged, with no hassle. We would ride our bikes up to the Village and hide them behind a nearby building. Then, stroll in to the much older crowd rockin' the "Stone", trying to look as cool as possible. You were the one that turned me on to FM radio. Very underground at the time. You called me up one night and said I had to get over to your house (the first one on Poplar) ASAP to hear the new Stones album "Beggars Banquet" that you just bought. "I shouted out who killed the Kennedys, when after all, it was you and me". They weren't playing that on WLS or WCFL! Hanging that Viet Cong flag out of your window in the new house....pushing the envelope, even then. Got to love it!! I could go on and on. Rick Bragdon put it so well, saying we all wasted lots of time in so many other ways having fun together. And that's what I will remember most, my old friend, all the good times we had growing up. As for me, I'm going to sit down and bang out an acoustic "Street Fighting Man", and hope you hear me. I remember you well, John Townsend, and I will never forget you. Ash.
Don Casey
I took John to a Bears Packer game at Wrigley Field when we were Sophomores. We used a "Pass" which meant we had no assigned seats. John insisted that we go down to the 50 Yard Line on the Bears Side (West) to the 3rd Row right behind Mayor Daley's seats (who wasn't there). We sat through 3 Quarters of incredible football until an Andy Frain Usher kicked us out. We went up a few rows away and waited for 3 or 4 plays only to return to those same seats and watch the finish of the game. Never forget him! Donnie Casey