Margaret (Polly)Townsend, Lenoir City

Margaret (Polly)Townsend, age 82, of Lenoir City passed away on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. She was born in Union County and was a long-time resident of Oak Ridge Tennessee.

After graduation, Polly started working at the Atomic Energy Commission in Oak Ridge where she was an Executive Assistant from 1958 to 1966. She loved her job immensely and very much felt her role in Oak Ridge and its top-secret history. She would routinely have to destroy her carbons after typing a document which was designated as classified. She embraced her responsibility of keeping those documents safe and secure at all times. In 1966 she left her position to be a full-time Mom to her two children. Her supervisor at the time hated to see her leave, he knew leaving was bittersweet for her because of her dedication and devotion to her role.

In 2003 she and her husband Joel moved from their long-time home in Oak Ridge to their lakeside home on Watts Bar Lake. She became a member of Luminary United Methodist Church and dearly loved her church and the relationships she had with her fellow church members and Sunday school class. One of the favorite things her and her husband enjoyed doing with the church were the progressive dinners where they would travel by boat to various homes on the lake and eat, she always said they were great fun. They also enjoyed attending the Wednesday night suppers at the church and seeing friends.

Her greatest joy in life was traveling with her husband and close friends. They visited France, Italy,  the US Virgin Islands, England, Spain, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, took numerous cruises, and traveled extensively across the US including the Hawaiian Islands. Her favorite destination was Italy, she was captivated by the spectacular beauty of Lake Como and Venice.

She and her husband enjoyed their RV and took many trips to Florida and Hunting Island where they loved sitting around a fire at night with their dear friends and the simple joy of a good conversation filled with laughter. 

She spent many years on a bowling league in Oak Ridge enjoying the sport and the close friendships that developed from those weekly games and lunches.

Polly was preceded in death by her husband Joel, parents Charles and Bonita Woods, brother Charles Woods and sister Jean Carver.

She is survived by daughters Tanya Ketterman, Terrie Adams (John); grandchildren, Trent Johnson, Corey Johnson (Kayla) Brett Johnson, Austin Johnson; great-grandchildren Conner, Claire; brother Pete Woods.

Her daughter Tanya writes: “My greatest and most cherished memories with my Mom will always be the amazing fun we had in New York City shopping until we dropped, eating at wonderful restaurants and seeing Broadway plays. My most memorable evening was going to the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center with my family where we laughed until we could laugh no more, it was a night I will never ever forget. My sister, nephews and I took many trips to Destin, Florida with Mom where we walked on the beach, always took a day and traveled to the town of Seaside, our favorite place to shop, and ate many great meals, there was so much love shared on those trips. My last trip with Mom was to Savannah Georgia, we had great fun taking the pedal cabs to dinner in the evening riding up and down the Spanish moss-lined streets. It was pure joy to feel that gentle breeze on our faces and see such beauty sitting side by side in the cart with the biggest smiles on our faces. I love you dearly Mom, you gave me life and I am so grateful you were my Mom.”

A celebration of life service will be held to honor her life at Luminary United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 19 at 2:00, the  Reverend Wayne Hedrick officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.

Fraker Funeral Home of Kingston is in charge of all the arrangements.

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