Clarence W. Townsend

Clarence Woodall Townsend, 78, died Monday, October 26, 2009 at his home in Clayton, after a brief illness. He was born January 17, 1931, in Lumberton, to Clarence Guy Townsend and Mineana Woodall Townsend. A caring individual, he was a great husband, father and grandfather. Upon graduating from Lumberton High School, Clarence attended Georgia Tech and the University of North Carolina and, in 1951, he enlisted for four years in the U.S. Air Force and served in the Korean War. He went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from North Carolina State University. Clarence accepted a position with Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut. In 1958, he met and married Shirley Aborn, to whom he was married for 51 years. They moved to West Palm Beach, FL, and then Clarence returned to North Carolina with his family and became a computer programmer for the Triangle Universities Computation Center (TUCC). He retired in 1987 from TUCC and moved to Clarksville, VA. Later the couple settled in Clayton, Clarence was active in the Presbyterian Church as an Elder and Stephen Minister. Clarence is survived by his wife, Shirley; his sons and their spouses, David and Lisa, and Danny and Robyn; and five grandchildren, who gave him great joy and love: Ty, Cory, Kaitlyn, Shelby, and Cassy. Clarence is also survived by his sister, Kendrick T. King of Denver, CO. A Celebration of Life service will take place at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 at the Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church, where he served as an Elder and Stephen Minister. The family will be receiving friends immediately following the service in the church’s Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Clarence to Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 4900 Kaplan Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606, or to the Community Hospice Foundation, 962 N.C. Highway 42 West, Clayton, NC 27520.