Ethan Townsend

Ethan Townsend
April 5, 1985-Sept. 4, 2009

Ethan Townsend, beloved son, brother, nephew, grandson and friend, died tragically in Southwest China when he and his traveling companion were hit by a rockslide. He was 24 years old. Ethan was born at Stanford University Hospital to Hal and Mary (Meadows) Townsend on April 5, 1985. His family relocated to Ashland in 1990, just in time for Ethan to begin Kindergarten at Walker Elementary School. He then attended Ashland Middle School and graduated from Ashland High School in 2003. Ethan played soccer and the cello. He participated on the math and science bowl teams. He approached every day as as an opportunity to learn something he didn't know before.
Ethan attended Stanford University and graduated in four years with a masters degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelors degree in physics. At the time of his death, Ethan was working toward a PhD in Physics at Colorado University at Boulder. Specifically, his lab was studying Atomic and Molecular Optics, he worked with lasers and liquid nitrogen and he enjoyed himself.
Ethan loved competition, and in his own words, "I love competition, not in order to compete against one another, but in order to bring a team closer together. Nothing is as exciting to me as a good plan executed successfully by a group of people with mutual trust." He also loved building things and tinkering. He usually applied the "learn by doing" method to his projects. Most recently he was installing an onboard computer and night vision into his car. The end result was never as important as the process of discovery and learning.
The spirit of adventure and exploration was a major driving force in his life and he always seemed to find like minded friends to accompany him on his journeys. He believed that the world was full of opportunities and he tried very hard to take advantage of every one of them.
Ethan was brilliant, yet humble. Compassionate, caring and fun. Loved by his friends and adored by his family, he was a bright light whose energy will be greatly missed by all that knew him.
In addition to his mother and father, Ethan is survived by his sister, Hannah; maternal grandparents, Ruth and Lee Meadows, Santa Barbara, Calif.; paternal grandmother, Charlene Townsend, Ashland , Ore.; and a large closeknit family full of loving aunts; uncles; and cousins, far too many to list.
There will be a memorial celebration in Ethan's honor September 20th at 2:00 p.m. in the Ashland Middle School Gymnasium. There will be a reception at the middle school immediately following the memorial.
There have been two endowments set up in Ethan's name: At CU Boulder: The physics department has set up a graduate scholarship in honor of Ethan Townsend and Jing Yin, awarded annually to a grad student for excellence in research, outreach, service and mentoring. In Ashland: The Ashland Schools Foundation is establishing an endowment in Ethan's name to support students mentoring students.