Jerry Townsend

Jerry Edward Townsend, 84, of Mount Ayr passed away Thursday, June 4, 2020. Visitation will be held at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mount Ayr from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, 2020, with the family present Tuesday afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. Masks are available and encouraged as well as social distancing. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home with burial to follow in the Clarinda Cemetery. Military honors will be given at the cemetery by American Legion Post No. 98 of Clarinda and the U.S. Navy Honor Guard. A memorial fund has been established in his name to be decided later. Online condolences may be left at www.armstrongfh.com.

Jerry was born Dec. 18, 1935, to Orie and Evelyn Townsend. He grew up in Bedford and graduated from Bedford High School.

In 1953, he entered into the U.S. Navy, serving four years on the U.S.S. aircraft carrier Shangri-La. The last of his tour he was sent to Monterey, California, where he received his honorable discharge completing his four years with the Navy. During these years, Jerry met and fell in love with Annette Castro. Jerry and Annette were married June 8, 1958, in Galt, California. Jerry and Annette moved to Iowa to live the remainder of their lives together.

Jerry and Annette’s first home was in Clarinda, where Jerry found a job at Lyle’s Corp. Jerry was accepted by the Clarinda Police Dept at the beginning of his career in law enforcement. After one year at the police department, Jerry applied for the Shenandoah Police Department, where he served for the next five years.

Jerry’s dream of being an Iowa State Patrolman was realized and he served 25 years with the Patrol — 1 year in Lamoni and the remainder in Mount Ayr.  Jerry retired from the Iowa State Patrol May 27, 1990. He transitioned into his next branch of service in the U.S. Army Reserves. He served 16 years with the Reserves. In June 2013, Jerry began working for the Iowa Southern Trolley.

Jerry is survived by his wife Annette; children: Adrianne Townsend (dear friend Dean Blades), Janine Beason, Randy (Susan) Townsend and Trudy Clark; grandchildren: Amanda Angus, Jeremy and Jerrod Mahaffey, Drew Fry, Raymond Townsend, Ryan Bohannan; brother Charles William (Retha) Townsend; other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, infant daughter Tamara Lynne, infant sister and brother Dennis Dean Townsend.