Kiliaen Townsend

Family-Placed Death Notice

TOWNSEND, Kiliaen KILIAEN V.R. TOWNSEND Kiliaen V. R. Townsend was born Oct. 6, 1918, in Garden City, Long Island, N.Y. He died March 23, 2008. After the Browning school in NYC and Pawling Boarding School in Dutchess County, N.Y., Townsend graduated from Williams College and the University of Virginia Law School, where he was on the Virginia Law Review. He served as Law Clerk for Judge John J. Parker of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before volunteering for the U.S. Army as a private. He was selected for the Counter Intelligence Corps and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. In 1946, Townsend became a member of the Georgia Bar and the Lawyers Club, and was an associate of Dorsey and Dorsey, Attorneys. He took his four Howard Johnson Motor Lodges public in 1963 as Atlanta Motor Lodges, Inc. Townsend was also the developer in 1973 of Townsend Place, the first 24-hour gated community of luxury townhouses in Georgia. Townsend put together the first Eisenhower for President Committee in the country and enlisted the General's friend, Bobby Jones. Townsend served as a delegate to the 1952 National Convention in Chicago and the nomination of Ike. Townsend was elected in 1965 as one of the first Republicans to the Georgia General Assembly. He gained the support of both parties in exposing and reforming the out of control pension systems. Appointed by the Speaker as Vice Chairman of the Pension Committee, he was the first and only Republican in the 20th Century to hold a leadership position on a House Committee and was named chairman of the Pension Committee in the National Republican Legislators Association. He introduced a lottery bill many years before it was seriously considered. Also, his efforts to remove the sales tax on food were another "first". Initially opposed by successive administrations, both the lottery and food sales tax bills were later enacted. He instituted the use of college students as Legislative aides, and the Speaker established a program for Political Science students from Georgia colleges to serve at the Capitol. His most controversial legislative effort was the consolidation of Georgia's 159 Counties that cost the taxpayers over $2 billion a year. In 1985 he was honored by the National Republican Legislators Association as one of the 10 most outstanding legislators among the 3000 serving throughout the United States. In 1992, after 27 years and 14 terms, many without opposition, Townsend retired as the longest serving Republican legislator. In addition to his career as a lawyer, a developer, a corporate CEO, and a legislator, Townsend undertook a fifth career as an Educational Consultant. He was the author of two books, The Boarding School Guide and The College Comparison Guide. Townsend served on numerous local boards including the Red Cross, YMCA, Boy Scouts, Legal Aid, Mental Health Association, Planned Parenthood, and was director of the Atlanta Humane Society. A longtime member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, he was a charter member of the Commerce Club and a past member of the Piedmont Driving Club. Townsend is survived by his son Van Townsend, his 3 grandchildren Oliver, Sky, and Ruthie of Signal Mountain, TN, and son Carter Townsend of San Francisco, CA. In lieu of flowers please send contributions to the Atlanta Humane Society 981 Howell Mill Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. A memorial service has been planned by the family. Cremation Society of the SOUTH is in charge of arrangements (770) 420-5557.