Dec. 09, 1944 — Oct. 20, 2013

John C. Townsend, 68, of Granger, Ind., passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, Mishawaka from complications following surgery.

He was born Dec. 9, 1944, to the late Corliss Franklin and Jean (Bartley) Townsend in South Bend, Indiana. John attended South Bend Public Schools and was a member of the 1963 class at South Bend Central High School. He received his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

John was a proud Vietnam Veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy. John was in distribution management for most of his life, retiring from Flowers Industries of Thomasville, Georgia. He also was employed by Dean Foods for 12 years and Panolam Industries for 6 years. After retirement, he always said he was going to be a greeter at Walmart and that is where he ended up, but worked in the Meat Dept., not as a greeter. The greeter position would have been perfect, because John never met a stranger and talked to anyone, anywhere.

He was an active member of the Jaycees and Optimist Club. On Dec. 19, 1975, he married Linda Zeigler in Norfolk, Virginia. Survivors, in addition to his wife, Linda, include two daughters: Tami (David) Esparza of Universal City, Texas; Jennifer (Mark) Sansone of Aurora, Illinois and one son: Kevin (Jennifer) Townsend of Bountiful, Utah. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Miguel, Nicolas and Austin Esparza of Universal City, Texas; Ashleigh, Meghan, Christian and Jensen Townsend of Bountiful, Utah and Arabella Sansone of Aurora, Illinois who was the latest edition to the family. After waiting almost seven years for her, Arabella was adopted in June and John got to spend just four short but wonderful months with his newest pride and joy. Now he is her Guardian Angel. John was a lifelong fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, so much so that he had an entire room in his home full of Notre Dame memorabilia. In Sept, 2012, he took the trip of a lifetime to Ireland to see Notre Dame play Navy. John was a true family man with a contagious laugh who was loved and will be missed by all who knew him.

Funeral services for John will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. at Bubb Funeral Chapel, 3910 North Main Street, Mishawaka where friends will be received from 6 until 8 p.m. on Friday and also one hour prior to the services at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Per John’s request, there will be food. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Disabled American Veterans, P.O Box 14301, Cincinnati, Ohio 45250-0301. The family would also like to thank the nursing staff at St. Joseph Medical Center, Mishawaka ICU department, especially Maranda and Karen, and Dr. Maskiny for their loving care and tireless efforts to save their beloved husband, father and grandfather.