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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 38(3), 1984, 259-260
OBITUARY
IN MEMORIAM Richard Fabian Townsend (1939-1983)
Dr. Richard Fabian Townsend died 12 September 1983 in Anderson, California. He was born 8 November 1939 in Los Angeles, California and lived in the state all his life. In 1962 he married Diane Moseman of Canoga Park, California. He received an A.A. degree in pre-pharmacy from Los Angeles Valley College, then his Pharm. D. from the University of Southern California. He worked as a pharmacist for Thrifty Drugs in Redding, then was a pharmacy consultant for the state. His last employment was as a biological technician for the U.S. Forest Service, Redding.
I first met Dick in 1955 at the Lorquin Entomological Society, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, where so many budding professional and amateur entomologists have received enlightenment. Dick and I were especially encouraged by Mr. Lloyd Martin and Dr. Fred Truxal of that institution. We took our first extended field trip together in June 1955: eight days (without a bath!), sleeping in a pup tent, while chasing such "wonders" as Colias eurydice, Papilio bairdii bairdii and Speyeria coronis semiramis near Barton Flats in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. I will never forget our efforts to prevent ground squirrel maraudings into our food supply,
Dr. Richard Fabian Townsend
260 Journal of the LEPIDOPTERISTS, Society
nor the expletive-charged argument as to who was at fault for our failure to net the only Baird's swallowtail seen! Later that summer, and again the following one, my mother sacrificed considerable time and effort to become "expedition leader" while Dick and I chased butterflies and beetles over much of Arizona. Highlights of those trips include Dick misplacing our only road map into the ice chest and his animated (to put it mildly) reaction to being stung on one of his private parts by an angry harvester ant! These are just some of the many memories we enjoyed over the years.
During succeeding years, until about 1961, Dick and I collected together and in the company of others, mostly on short trips in southern California but also as far afield as southeastern Arizona. Shortly thereafter, Dick made two extensive collecting trips to Mexico; one by bus. By this time Dick's interests tended more towards Coleoptera. He donated most, if not all, his earlier butterfly collection to the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, under the care of Dra. Leonila P. Vazquez G.
Dick and I enjoyed a special camaraderie during those early years of our friendship, one which decreased only spatially as we pursued disparate education and careers. During Dick's years of practicing pharmacy his interest in entomology gave way largely to such pastimes as fishing, hunting and prospecting for old bottles and other artifacts. However, during his employment with the U.S. Forest Service his "first love" was rekindled and butterflies came to be his primary objective. We kept in touch over the years and, especially during the last two, were able to renew our collecting together.
The Dick Townsend Collection will be donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. It comprises a specialized collection of approximately 250 Lepidop-tera, many of which were reared, including some excellent material in the genus Papilio; and 2800 Coleoptera, almost entirely in the families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae and Scarabaeidae.
Dick is survived by his lovely wife and daughters (Erin and Stacie), his mother, Erma Townsend and sister, Linda Hensley. He was my friend of longest standing. We will all miss him very much. So too will his fellow lepidopterists.
Richard L. Westcott, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Salem, Oregon 97310-0110.
Date of Issue (Vol. 38, No. 3): 24 April 1985