Timothy Lee Townsend

He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 24, 1941, to Rev. Dr. Carl and Sibyl Townsend. After the unexpected death of his father, he grew up in Yazoo City and Blue Mountain, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana. From a young age, he learned to trust and depend on the providence of a loving God and the importance of a strong and enduring faith.

Townsend attended Mississippi College, where he served as the State Baptist Student Union President and as a member of the US Naval Air Reserve. In college as a summer missionary, he felt a call to ministry and service.

He married Mary Carol Tyler in 1964, in Blue Mountain, Mississippi, and they had two children, Tyler and Christy.

Townsend earned a Master of Divinity in 1965 and a Doctorate of Ministry in 1976 in Louisville, Kentucky. He served as pastor of six churches over thirty years in Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia, concluding his vocational ministry as a hospice chaplain in Northern Virginia. Tim had many interests including bicycling, golf, hang gliding, photography, and especially sailing and woodworking.

Townsend is survived by his devoted wife, Carol, brother Carl Townsend, sister Grace (Paul) Merchant, daughter Christy Townsend, son Tyler (Jennifer) Townsend, beloved grandchildren Michael (Loren) Denham, Madeline (Nash) York, Erica Denham, Alexis (Ethan) Schreiber, and Leah Townsend, and one great-grandson, Oliver Denham.

A memorial service will be held at Springmoor Retirement Community, in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 1, 2024 at 11:00 am. A light lunch reception will follow. A private interment service will be held later in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Online condolences and service details can be found at www.nationalcremation.com/obituaries.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be directed to a local Hospice provider or the Springmoor Endowment Fund.