John Townsend

John Clendenin Townsend passed away on June 8, 2025. Well into his 86th year, well before his time. Eagle Scout, rebellious teenager, historian, jazz musician, graphic designer, raconteur, great listener, good friend, happy man. After brief stints as gum-scraper at Kresge's Dime Store and aspiring photojournalist on a fictitious expedition to the Galapagos, he began to refine his career goals.

Beginning by studying Chemistry at Cornell and Forestry at Michigan State University, he received degrees in English from Wayne State University and the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota, and his dissertation on early 20th century Labor History was published by Garland Press in 1986. Working full-time for approximately 15 years as a jazz musician in Minneapolis, he then made a characteristically feminist gesture to retrain as a graphic designer in order to follow his French professor wife, Jan Solberg, to an academic job at Kalamazoo College, in Michigan. His forty-some year career as an award-winning designer ended with his retirement in 2025. His beautifully-designed, thoughtful holiday cards will be sorely missed.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his two brothers, Ralph and Tom, his niece, Kathleen, beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and friends too numerous to mention (they knew who they were). He is survived by his wife, Jan; sisters- and brothers-in-law Joan, Rita, John and Jim; his nephew, Red, and his nieces Nancy and Sarah; beloved relatives and de facto relatives Esther, Ben, Susan, Sarah (Tim), Alyssa, Russell and Jesse; and other relatives and much-loved friends too numerous to mention (you know who you are).

A potluck memorial gathering will be held in Kalamazoo at a later date.

To share a memory or leave a condolence for the family visit https://www.langelands.com.