Townsley, Charles William

Charles William Townsley, 57, of Toledo, passed away Thursday, March 1, 2012, at his home under the care of Mercy Hospice. Funeral Services will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, March 5, at the South Tama County High School Gymnasium with Pastor Brian Oliver from Christ United Methodist Church in Toledo officiating. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo. Visitation will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home in Tama, with the family present.

Charles was born on Sept. 4, 1954, in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the son of Joseph Frederick and Janet Gaynor (Hockey) Townsley. He graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1972. He then attended UNI. On Aug. 21, 1976, he was united in marriage to Anita Moore at the Central United Methodist Church in Oskaloosa. Charley started working at Fareway Stores in 1970 and moved to the Toledo area in 1979 with Fareway. In 1981, he opened the All In 1 Stores in Tama and Toledo. He started working for Spooner Grocery in 1986 and after they closed, Charley went to work for the Chronicle Office Supply and became the sports writer for the Toledo Chronicle and Tama News Herald in 2001, where he recently retired due to his illness.

Charley was a member of the Christ United Methodist Church in Toledo, serving on numerous committees and was a former youth leader and Sunday school teacher. He was a former Toledo volunteer firefighter. Charley enjoyed sports and was an avid STC Booster, promoting student achievement in the classroom as well as in their activities. He was a Cleveland Indians Baseball fan. He loved cooking, vinyl records, music, movies and visiting Anita's family farm. Charley's greatest joy was his family and his Chocolate Lab “Chester,” as well as many friends in the community.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Janet.

Survivors include his wife, Anita Marie of Toledo; his daughter, Allison (Darvin) Graham of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; his beloved companion, Chester, his 10-year-old Chocolate Lab; his father, Joseph (Bettie) Townsley of Cloquet, Minn.; one sister, Pam (Eich) Kuntz of Rose Hill; one brother-in-law, L.E. (Sherrie) Moore of Rose Hill; his mother-in-law, Virginia (the late Edwin) Moore of Oskaloosa; his nieces and nephews, Ashley (Bradley) Warren, Michelle (Justin) Boender, Eich (Dixie) Kuntz, Olivia (Brent) Smith, Rebecca (Jake) Klett and Brett (Jackey) Kuntz; 11 great-nieces and nephews; his aunts, Doris Barnard and Bonnie Hamre; and his uncle, Bill Hockey.

Memorials may be directed to the STC Activity Boosters.

Published in The Gazette March 3, 2012.