John W. Townsend ca. 1946 — March 12, 1971
Near Snohomish field —
Plane crash claims life of Edmonds man
The crash of a single engine airplane last Friday afternoon near Snohomish claimed the life of an Edmonds man, 24-year-old John W. (Joe) Townsend of 8431 Madrona Lane. Townsend was flight instructor and Gordon C. Johnson, 21, of 4243 11th Ave. N.E., Seattle, the student pilot. Both died as their plane crashed to the ground after it apparently went out of control following takeoff from the Snohomish airfield. The accident happened shortly after 4 p.m. The plane, owned by Snohomish Flying Service, went down on the John Knutsen farm, hitting a corner of the barn and slamming into a tree in the yard. There was no fire but the plane broke in two, pinning the victims inside. Witnesses reported hearing the plane's engine sputtering just before it fell to the ground.
Townsend, a 1964 Edmonds High School graduate, was a 1968 graduate of the University of Washington majoring in political science and had planned to enter Gonzaga University law school in the fall. He served in the Army from 1968 to 1970 and as a youth had been active in the Boy Scouts. He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Townsend, a brother, James, and a sister, Terri Townsend, all of Edmonds; and his grandfather, Perry Compton of Seattle.
The text above is extracted from this newspaper clipping provided by Patrick Ashley,
who says he believes it came from the former Enterprise newspaper.
Lyle Holcomb
John's father was a pilot, and John began flying in his early teens. I remember he had one younger sister. John was serious, dedicated, and loyal. He died, I think, when he was 15 or 16. He was learning to fly via instruments at night. Something went wrong on a practice flight and he crashed into a barn. I remember visiting his beautiful mother following his funeral. She was badly shaken with such a heavy blow. I'll never forget visiting her.
Note: John Townsend died in 1971 at age 24. ~Admin edit - 21a14
Patrick Ashley
Rummaging through old clipppings, I found an obit for Joe. He did indeed die in a single engine plane crash but on 3/12/1971, at age 24. He was a flight instructor, and both he and his student perished. John graduated with us in '64, from the UW in '68, and served in the Army from '68 to '70. We became friends as fellow commuter students (he was the driver) and a shared interest in foreign films (with subtitles, of course) usually at the Guild 45 theater in the U District. Knew he was looking forward to Law School. So sad.