Obituary of Leo Townsend
Leo Edward Townsend passed into paradise on February 4, 2019. He was born June 23, 1937 in Hamby, Texas to Roy and Jewel Townsend. He was a big, quiet, loving husband, father, grand-father and great grandfather.
He had 3 older sisters: Laverne, Gladys, and Margaret. They lived on a farm and Leo learned very young about all the chores that were connected to it. He was in the FFA in high school, becoming Vice President. At age 19, he learned about cancer for the first time when his father Roy, an elder at the Hamby Church of Christ, passed away. Leo was in his first year of college at Abilene Christian College.
In 1958 he married Patsy Blackburn. They had 3 children, two boys – Gerald and Richard (Rick), and daughter, Terri – they were married for 23 years. He worked for a while at Abilene Sheet Metal before joining the Army and serving in the National Guard and active duty in El Paso and Holbrook, AZ. After leaving the Army he worked in Denton, TX at the missile site. They later moved to Sherman and then to Lubbock where he worked for Sara Coventry Jewelry. His love of electronics finally brought them to Richardson, where he worked for Texas Instruments as an engineer.
After his first marriage ended, Leo began to date Carol Dupree and in 1984 they married and lived in Richardson. They were married for 34 years. They lived all over Texas, but finally settled in North Richland Hills near family.
Carol had 2 children: Lisa and Rick. Lisa had a son, Lance, and they became Grandparents for the first time in 1985.
Leo is survived by wife Carol Townsend, children: Gerald Townsend, Rick Townsend, Terri Seal, Rick Dupree, and Lisa Dupree. 7 grandchildren: Christina Townsend, Alex Townsend, Josh Townsend, Lance Allred, Alexis Blair, Whitney Dupree, Dustin Dupree and 3 great-grandchildren: Marriah Dupree, Aubrey Allred, and Parker Blair.
Cancer touched Leo’s life several times. In 1989, he had one kidney removed due to a mass that was found when he had a kidney stone. Then his oldest sister died of cancer in 1993. And finally in 2009 he suffered from pancreatic cancer.
Through everything, Leo kept his faith and loved the Lord. He believed that the Lord watched over him and took care of him at important times in his life. He will be missed by his family but we know he’s in heaven - happy and healthy.
