Marine zoologist found joy sharing the faith
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Sidney Joseph Townsley, who once said his “main joy” as a deacon was bringing people into the Catholic faith through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, died in Honolulu on Jan. 26 at the age of 91. He was a deacon for 29 years.
Bishop Larry Silva will preside at Deacon Townsley’s funeral Mass, 11 a.m., March 11, at St. Pius X Church in Manoa. Before the Mass will be visitation at 9:30 a.m. and the eulogy at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be private.
“One of the most valuable experiences I had as a deacon was as head of the RCIA program, preparing people coming into the church for baptism,” Deacon Townsley wrote in 2012 when marking his 25 anniversary of ordination.
“I got a great deal of satisfaction from that ministry. That was my main joy,” he said. “I met people who were searching for the faith and I still see a lot of them today.”
Deacon Townsley served St. Pius X Church, Manoa, and Sacred Hearts Church, Punahou, two parishes which later combined as the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community under one pastor.
His ministry included visits to the homebound, hospital ministry and prison ministry, presiding at baptisms, funerals and weddings, and preaching.
Townsley was born on Aug. 6, 1924, in Colorado Springs. While attending the University of California at Berkeley, a summer college course in invertebrate zoology introduced him to a lifelong love of the ocean and its array of creatures.
He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, returning to Berkeley in 1946 to earn a master’s degree and start his academic career. He joined the zoology department of the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1948 as a teaching assistant and to work on his second master’s degree.
He married Mary Fuss, a UH chemist, in 1950 at Sacred Heart Church, Punahou. They then headed to New Haven, Connecticut, to Yale University where Townsley taught and did research for his doctorate.
The couple’s first two children were born in New Haven. Four more were born in Hawaii, where Townsley worked as a researcher at Coconut Island and taught marine ecology at UH.
The professor’s research took him to every continent and almost every ocean studying corals, squid and fish. He also explored sea cucumber aquaculture as a possible source of protein for the world.
According to his daughter Mary Kate Townsley-Ross, “He loved sharing his passion for research and for exploring the ocean with his students.”
“Many have expressed that he had a significant impact as a mentor and role model in shaping their lives,” she said.
While teaching zoology at the University of Hawaii, his pastor Father Edwin Duffy suggested that Townsley “investigate the diaconate.”
“For some reason I said yes,” he said.
Townsley was ordained a permanent deacon in 1987 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa. Besides serving at Sacred Heart and St. Pius X, he ministered in his Manoa neighborhood at the University of Hawaii’s Newman Center.
Among the many weddings at which he officiated were those of his children. He also became a Benedictine oblate.
Deacon Townsley retired from the university in 1989 and shortly afterward stepped back from his diaconate work to care for his wife who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She died in 1994.
“Fiercely independent until the end, Sid packed a lot into his 91 years,” said Townsley-Ross. “Always a strong swimmer, he participated in three Waikiki Roughwater swims. He also finished six Honolulu Marathons plus numerous fun runs before hanging up his sneakers.”
Besides Townsley-Ross, Deacon Townsley is survived by sons Christopher and John Townsley, and daughters Margaret Parrish Stoker and Lisa Gail Townsley and one grandaughter.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in his memory to the scholarship fund at the University of Hawaii at Manoa via the University Foundation.
