Stuart William Townsend

Stuart William "Bill" Townsend, 84, died November 6, 2024 at his home in Bozeman, Montana, ending a struggle with complications from Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinsonism. 

dBill was born at home on South Wallace Street in Bozeman on May 18, 1940, the son of William and Marjorie (Ritchie) Townsend. He attended his early elementary years at Hawthorne and Emerson Schools before the family moved to the Gallatin Valley Seed Company Experimental Farm on Huffine Lane where his father was foreman, developing a strain of pea suitable for freezing. He spent many summer days weeding the pea fields along with his older brother, Roger, and his younger sister, Karen. Bill attended Monforton School through junior high.

Bill was among the first senior class to graduate from the newly built Bozeman Senior High School in 1958. He was named Scholar Athlete for all three years and graduated as class valedictorian. Bill was a wrestler the first year the sport was introduced at the high school, under the coaching of Tom LeProwse. Tom would continue to be a major influence in Bill's life when Bill's family moved to Filer, Idaho, at the beginning of his senior year. Wanting their son to graduate from BSHS, his parents chose Tom to be a guardian for Bill for the ensuing year.

Football was the other sport in which Bill would participate. He was named All-State tackle and later received a scholarship to play football for the Bobcats.While attending Montana State College (now MSU) Bill majored in physics. He met his future wife in chemistry class the first week, where he told his friends that he would marry that girl someday. Always a man of his word, the couple was married on July 23,1960 and graduated together in 1962. Bill was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Fangs sophomore service honorary, M Club and Phi Eta Sigma Engineering Honorary. 

Upon graduation from college, Bill was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He attended Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, where his occupational specialty was artillery. His first tour of duty was the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station in Hawaii. Here he would serve as Executive Officer of his Kilo Battery. He would later become trained as an Aerial Observer. In March of 1965, the 4th Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division was sent to Vietnam for a 13-month tour of duty. He served as an AO with a UH-1 Huey helicopter squadron. Bill received an Air Medal for flying 52 missions in enemy territory. He completed his service in April, 1966, attaining the rank of Captain.

Upon completion of his tour in Vietnam, Bill had planned to attend the FBI Academy in Quantico. This plan would change course when his former principal, Hiney Lund, offered him a job at his alma mater, Bozeman Sr. High School, teaching math and physics. He would also coach football and take over the head wrestling coach position from Tom LeProwse, who once again would serve as a mentor to Bill.

Bill received a grant from the National Science Foundation to further his education at Washington State University where he spent the summers of 1969 and 1970.

During Bill's 28-year tenure as teacher and coach, he taught geometry, calculus, and physics to hundreds of students. He served eight years as a football line coach and 17 years as head wrestling coach. Seeing the value of an early start in the sport of wrestling, Bill developed the AAU Wrestling Club for elementary kids in the early seventies. In 1968, 1971 and 1972 the Bozeman Hawks were State Class A Wrestling Champions. Bill was awarded Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1972.

Returning to his hometown of Bozeman was a choice Bill never regretted. He and Bev raised their family of three children, Liz, Ken and Jeff. A decade was spent on a ranch in Springhill, north of Bozeman, where they raised a small herd of cattle and formed a summer haying operation with partners Tom Leprowse and Don Moorhead. Some of the best memories were made for the three kids as they raised horses, puppies and kittens and helped with the spring calving season. The three of them learned how to work hard, yet recall those years as "the best experience a kid could have".

Bill enjoyed watching his beloved Hawks and Bobcats throughout his life. In his younger days, he enjoyed hunting deer and elk. Bill trekked the local mountains like a mountain goat. He was an avid card player, enjoying many friend and family gatherings playing pinochle, cribbage, Hand and Foot, and poker. He was very fond of his eight grandchildren, attending their concerts, soccer, lacrosse, and football games. He designed and built a spiral staircase on the back patio where he taught them how to shoot a bow and arrow from the upper deck. In his retirement years, Bill enjoyed reading and listening to music, especially jazz, and playing cards. He built flag cases and custom medal showcases for members of his family and several close friends. He especially enjoyed reunions in Washington, California, and Las Vegas with his former Vietnam Marine buddies.

Bill was extremely proud to be a Marine... the Few, the Proud.

 Bill is survived by his wife, Beverly (Landes); his three children, Lizabeth of Bozeman, Ken (Sheri) of Vancouver, Washington, and Jeff (Leslie) of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He had eight grandchildren; Stuart, Taylor, Allie (Kyle), Keenan (Kelsey), Asher (Audrey), Joshua, Owen, and Lou. He was delighted to become a great grandfather with the arrival of Zoe Lynn and Presley Sue Townsend (Keenan and Kelsey) and Ewan Darrell Cheney (Kyle and Allie).

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Marge; his brother Roger and wife Delores; his sister, Karen, and husband Jack Rogers (who was Bill's best friend since high school); and two nieces. He is also survived by one niece, four nephews, numerous beloved cousins and dear friends, colleagues, and former students. The family gives thanks to the Veterans Affairs and to the wonderful staff at Eden Home Health and Hospice for their support, loving care and companionship during Bill's final years. A Celebration of Bill's Life will be held Saturday, November 16, 2024, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service, 300 Highland Blvd., Bozeman. Cremation has taken place, and cemetery services with Military Honors will be held at a later date. Memorials in Bill's honor are suggested to Warriors & Quiet Waters, 351 Evergreen Drive, Suite A, Bozeman, MT 59715. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.dahlcares.com.