Lawrence Benjamin "Ben" Towsey, 92, of Mifflintown, passed away at 10:25 a.m. on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at his residence.
Born Jan. 10, 1927, in Port Royal, Juniata County, he was the son of the late Lawrence Benjamin and Edna H. (Bratton) Towsey.
On July 14, 1950, he married his surviving wife, Dorothy L. (Fettig) Towsey, with whom he was blessed to share more than 68 years of marriage.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by: his son, Larry B. Towsey and Missy Huss, of Port Royal; two grandchildren, Steven R. Towsey and Rachel L. Towsey; and one great-grandson, Benjamin Towsey.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Jane Kohler and Margie Brown, making him the last of his generation.
He was a 1945 graduate of Tuscarora Valley High School and proudly served his country with the U.S. Army during World War II.
His memberships included: Messiah Lutheran Church, Mifflintown; Union Lodge No. 324 F&AM, where he was a past worshipful master and he was 32nd Degree Mason with the A.A.S.R., Harrisburg Valley; a member of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon; the Juniata Valley Forest No. 88; the Juniata County Agricultural Fair Board; the Selinsgrove Moose Lodge; the Crawford-Brubaker VFW Post 5863; the American Legion Post 298; and he had served as the scoutmaster of the Port Royal Boy Scout Troop No. 46.
He retired from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the area director for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association of Selinsgrove and he was employed by the Tuscarora Valley Loan Company, of Port Royal.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, 2019, from the Brown Funeral Homes Inc., 100 Bridge St., Mifflintown, with the Rev. William N. Esborn officiating. Interment will follow in the Old Church Hill Cemetery in Port Royal, where military burial honors will be accorded by the Juniata County Veterans Council.
A viewing will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of a masonic service, accorded by his lodge at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday at the funeral home.
Online condolences and tributes can be shared with the family at www.brownfuneralhomesinc.com.
Contributed by rkohler3 on 10/8/09 - Image Year: 1945
This photo shows Ben Towsey in his Tuscarora Valley High School Yearbook Class of 1945.
Contributed by rkohler3 on 2/7/13 - Image Year: 1944
Ben Towsey while serving in the military during World War II. (Photo submitted by Wayne Taylor)
Contributed by rkohler3 on 12/11/22 - Image Year: 1972
27th YEAR REUNION - Held 23 Sep 1973 at Frank Hower home on Milford Street, Port Royal: (Front Row l-r) John Ewalt, John Stitt, Carl McClure, Hank Hower, Bradford Kepner, Ben Towsey; (Middle Row) Martha (Peterson) Shoop, Doris (Koons) Long, Martha (Yoder) Hower, Tish (Wert) Hower, Betty (Meloy) Cunningham, Dorothy (Fettig) Towsey; (Back Row) Oscar Swartz, Jim Sherlock, Jane (Maffett) Clark, Beatrice (Boyer) Allison, Jean (Shirk) Rohrbaugh.
Contributed by rkohler3 on 2/7/13 - Image Year: 2012
PORT ROYAL BICENTENNIAL PARADE: WORLD WAR II VETERANS: BEN TOWSEY (back seat near), JACK TAYLOR and PAUL TOWSEY (Photo submitted by Wayne Taylor)
Contributed by rkohler3 on 10/21/18 - Image Year: 2018
EARLIEST CLASS ATTENDEES at Port Royal and Tuscarora Valley High School Reunion at the Port Royal Community Building, October 6, 2018. (Seated L-R: Jean (Shirk) Rohrbaugh, Class '46; Dorothy (Fettig) Towsey, Class of '46; Ben Towsey, Class '45; Standing L-R: Mildred (Fleck) Bashore, Class '48; Robert Ditmer, Class '49)(Photo from TIMES of Port Royal)
