Rep. Larry Townsend, D-Randolph, will be remembered for his keen sense of humor and genuine caring for Vermonters, lawmakers said Monday.
Townsend, 66, died Saturday after a long battle with cancer.
“He was kind of struggling at the end of the session,” said Rep. Linda Martin, D-Wolcott, who served with Townsend on the House Government Operations Committee. “He wanted to finish and he knew he wouldn’t be coming back. We will miss him in the committee, particularly his common sense.
“He was very caring of the Vermont people,” said Martin, who is also the committee clerk and is Town Clerk in Wolcott. “He worked hard, always did a lot of research before a vote and had a wonderful sense of humor.”
Townsend was elected to represent the Orange-Washington-Addison district in 2008 when Rep. Jim Hutchinson died just before the September primary. He was serving a third term when he died, was a lifelong resident of Orange County and earned an associate’s degree from Vermont Technical College.
Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Orange, said he had great respect for Townsend’s willingness to step up when a job needed to be done.
“He was asked repeatedly to serve on vacancies on the school board and selectboard,” MacDonald said. “When Jim Hutchinson died, he was everybody’s choice to replace him. He stepped right in without blinking.”
Townsend won the seat outright in 2010 and was re-elected in 2012. “I’ve known him for 30 years,” MacDonald said. “He was a great listener who was a good judge of what the public concern was. His experience came from dealing with people across the counter in the post office. He was a level-headed, conservative fellow with good common sense. He was a special one who will be missed.”
House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morrisville, also recognized Townsend’s quiet sense of humor in a prepared statement: “Larry was a tireless advocate for his constituents, faithfully bringing their concerns to the People’s House with a steady voice and deep commitment,” Smith wrote. “I will miss Larry’s keen sense of humor and sense of fairness. My thoughts are with his wife Judy and their four sons; we will all miss him greatly.”
Rep. Patsy French represents the same two-seat district as Townsend and said that working in the post office gave him a unique perspective on the town. “He worked in the post office for years,” French said. “He had a great sense of humor and always had a quick comeback. But it was a generous sense of humor never meant to cut anyone down.
“The local paper (The Herald of Randolph) would come in to the post office Wednesday night for mailing on Thursday and he would have read the whole paper and would tell people the stories before the papers went out. He was extremely community-oriented and extremely family oriented.”
Townsend was the third member of House Government Operations to die since 2008, Martin said. “It’s kind of spooky.”
Committee members Cola Hudson, R-Lyndonville, and David Clark, R-St. Johnsbury, both passed away in early 2008.
Calling hours for Rep. Townsend will be held from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Day Funeral Home on Franklin Street in Randolph. A funeral will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Randolph Union High School Auditorium.
The Democratic committees of the towns in the district will recommend three names to Gov. Peter Shumlin, who will choose someone to serve out Townsend’s term.
Shumlin ordered that flags on all state buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise Saturday until sunrise Sunday in Townsend’s honor.
An earlier version of this story reported that Townsend was appointed to his first term. That was incorrect. The change is reflected above.
