Frederick Townsend Obituary

Frederick S. Townsend, Jr., of Wolcott, CT, passed away peacefully at his home May 9, at the age of 88. Mr. Townsend was born on August 25, 1936, in New Haven, CT, to the late Frederick S. Townsend, Sr. and Doris (Birchman) Townsend. Born in New Haven, CT he resided in Pittsfield, MA, and Reading, PA, before settling in Wethersfield, CT where his children were raised. Fred has been a resident of Wolcott, CT since 1991. Mr. Townsend was predeceased by his wife, Corinne (Pierpoint), in 2023 after 32 years of marriage and his first wife, of 32 years, Colleen (Shea) Townsend. He is survived by his sister, Barbara Townsend of Hollis, NH; sons Frederick Townsend, III from Hartford, CT, Christopher Townsend from Carson, Nevada, Robert Townsend from Portland, CT; daughters Carolyn Shields and her husband Bernard from Phoenix, AZ, and Cynthia Townsend and her wife Laura from Albany, CA. He is also survived by grandsons, Dominick Townsend, Liam, Kieran and Ayden Shields and great-granddaughters, Ellie and Chloe Townsend. Fred graduated from James Hillhouse High School in 1954. In recent years, he kept the Hillhouse spirit alive – hosting a quarterly luncheon at his home just days before his passing. He was the third of five generations to attend Lehigh University, graduating in 1958 as their only Mathematics major. Fred was an avid Lehigh Wrestling fan, traveling cross-country in support and even to the 1984 Olympics. He later received Lehigh's "L in Life" alumni award for outstanding achievements and devotion to the university. In 1961, Fred passed his actuarial exams and soon after became the first member of the Society of Actuaries hired full-time at a Member Firm of the New York Stock Exchange. Continually pushing for innovation, Fred's helped his employer become the first life insurance company to publish premium rates and policy values on an IBM 650 in the early 1960's. Fred was a respected businessman, working most notably as a Sr. Vice President at Conning & Company in Hartford, CT where he was employed for 24 years, before starting his first companies, Townsend & Schupp and the Connecticut Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation. Sought after for his industry knowledge, he consulted with leading insurance companies to facilitate 13 mergers and acquisitions including the then largest US Insurance company acquisition, Farmers Group by the British American Tobacco Company. He was also the Investment Banker for the demutualization of Prudential Insurance Company. Fred was awarded the Distinguished Business person of the year by the Wolcott Chamber of Commerce and was still an active board member of Sage Scholars at the time of his passing. Fred was an avid writer throughout his life; in his submissions ranging from Lehigh "Brown and White" sports columns to a monthly National Underwriter column he maintained for twenty years, or his more recent editorials to the Waterbury Republican, he always managed to weave in a groan-worthy pun. Fred served as the Vice President of the U.S. Chess Federation during the Bobby Fischer boom and was involved in negotiating terms for the 1975 Kasparov–Fischer World Chess Championship. He was President of the New England and the Connecticut State Chess Associations. Dedicated to scholastic chess, he ran tournaments in Connecticut for over 50 years. Fred was an avid Yankee fan, sports memorabilia collector and member of the CT Jaguar club. Calling hours will be held at the Hawley Lincoln Memorial, 424 Elm Street, New Haven, Tuesday from 5–7 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at St. John's Episcopal Church in New Haven at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Frederick Townsend, Jr., please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.