Glenn Arlen Townley of Seaford passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and close caregivers on the evening of May 1 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Rehoboth Beach. Glenn died from a brief illness during his seven-year struggle with Alzheimer’s dementia.
Glenn was born July 14, 1929, at Moorestown Hospital in New Jersey to Raymond and Gladys Burnham Townley. He lived in Madison, New Jersey where he attended Madison High School. Here Glenn excelled in tennis and ice hockey and played tympani in the New Jersey High School All-State Orchestra. During the weekends he played the drums in his own band called The Key Notes.
Glenn was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Madison and sang with his father in the choir of the Grace Episcopal Church. In 1947, Glenn joined the National Guard Reserves. He was working construction and attending architecture school in the evenings until Sept. 3, 1950, when he was activated into the U.S. Army and deployed to Korea. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant and served as a scout for 20 months in the Korean Conflict for which he received a marksman medal.
Upon return from the war, Glenn moved to Lakewood, NJ where he worked as a salesman for a building supply company and met the love of his life, Anne Weiss. They married on April 22, 1961, and moved to Pine Beach, NJ where their daughters Joyce and Susan were born. Glenn then built his first of their four family homes in Beachwood, NJ. In 1970, Glenn accepted a position as a supervisor for a home builder in Stone Harbor, N.J. Glenn was very active in the community serving as a member of the Stone Harbor School Board, a local representative to the NJ School Board, and a member and President of the Stone Harbor Chamber of Commerce. In 1971 he became a member of the Stone Harbor Volunteer Fire Company and served as a lieutenant and assistant chief. While serving as president of the fire company, Glenn was instrumental in guiding the planning and development of the new fire hall. Glenn eventually started his own construction company designing and building new homes and renovating others until he retired. Following Anne’s stroke in 1999, Glenn devoted his next ten years to caring for his wife until her passing.
In 2003, the couple moved to Seaford to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. Glenn continued to enjoy his hobby of building and flying model airplanes in the Sussex Aeromodelers Club. He became an avid golfer in his late 60s and joined the Seaford Golf and Country Club playing in the Maryland Interclub Seniors Golf Association. When Alzheimer’s dementia began making independent living difficult, Glenn began sharing his time between the homes of his daughter’s and their families.
Glenn had an excellent reputation as a builder in Stone Harbor and made lifelong friends with many of his customers. Glenn could fix just about anything and shared his creative talents with others in so many ways. Over the years, he built parade floats for the fire company and his grandchildren, helped with his grandchildren’s school projects, designed and built furniture for his family, helped his daughters with the building of their homes and businesses and even built a boat. He was artistic, athletic, musically talented, and very hard-working. He was a great husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He taught his daughters so many things and offered endless guidance and support to all who asked. Glenn put his family before himself, never complained, and dealt with all of life’s challenges in a deliberate and honorable way. Glenn had a great personality and sense of humor which he never lost. He was so loved and respected and will be so missed by his family and friends.
Glenn is survived by two daughters, Joyce Mackler (Brian Alloway) and Susan Wood (Robert); four grandchildren; Andrew Mackler, Max Mackler, Carolyn Wood and Rebecca Wood; his companion Alexandra Kokonos, and former son-in-law Dr. Bradley Mackler. He was preceded in death by his wife Anne Townley, his parents, and his sisters Jean Fogle and Carol Dowton.
Services will be held on Saturday, May 11 at the Missions Community Church in Laurel. Family visitation and viewing begins at 11 a.m. followed by the service at noon. Funeral arrangements are being made by Cranston’s Funeral Home in Seaford.
We are very grateful for the love and care given to Glenn by Compassionate Care Hospice, his private caregivers, and those from Seniors Helping Seniors. Donations may be made to Stone Harbor Volunteer Fire Company, 175 96th Street, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247 “in remembrance of Glenn Townley.”