Obituary of Darin Louis Townsend

Darin was the husband of Elaine Price, and a devoted father of his chosen children the late Cpl. Shari Irving and James A. Irving. In addition to Elaine and James, Darin is survived by his chosen grandchildren Dylan Plant (Will Arsenault), Caleb Plant, Autumn Price, and Jaymi Price who he loved dearly.  He was a great cat dad to Bobo (21 years) and toa long line of rescued felines now deceased.

Darin was born in Calais, Maine to the late Mary (O’Brien) Townsend and the late David “Fuzzy” Townsend.  Dain worked in the US for most of his adult life, but he lived for a number of years in St. Stephen, N.B.  Darin had worked as a crane operator at the OSB mill in Baileyville, and then when the mill closed he worked as a hardware clerk at Mardens, Ace and then Johnson’s Hardware.

Darin was a skilled metal machinist and made lower scale copies of antique steam engines. He also poured metal, and in his youth made a working canon that he took joy in firing. While such things are definitely frowned on today, it was part of a different time of childhood in which he fired muzzle loaders, regular fire arms, and raced home made go carts.  As a young adult he restored two sports cars.

Darin retained a sharp wit, and pulled harmless shenanigans whenever possible. In one memorable instance ala shades of the movie Caddie Shack (which hadn’t been made yet), his mother asked a teenage Darin to remove some gophers out of her garden because they were ruining it. Darin put black powder in all the gopher holes that he could find and then lit the gun powder.  There was a thunderous boom that caused Mary to rush out of the house. Yes, teenage judgement wasn’t at it’s best, but it really did frighten the gophers away!  In another instance but as an adult, he dealing with a micromanaging supervisor who had put new locks on the office door so that the staff couldn’t use the telephone. People had to beg her for permission. Using methods known only to Darin, he was able to open the lock and place a brand -new toilet on her desk.  He then locked the office back up, and patiently waited for the supervisor to discover this. My what a reaction! It entertained Darin and some other employees all day long. She knew that Darin had done this but she couldn’t figure how he had done it.

Darin was a sailing and boat building enthusiast. He always wore a sea captain’s cap that people could see from far away and know that it was him.   Now, Darin has donned a new cap, left the dock that we call earth, and has set sail through the deep blue waters to reach God’s destination on the far shore. Since he admired the old- time ships of centuries ago and, having been kind and lived a good life, Darin possibly was given the ship of his dreams for the voyage.  We think so. Think of the video for Enya’s Orinoco Flow, and that captures Darin’s spirit.

Darin loved pets; especially cats and dogs, liked to landscape the fabulous flower gardens that we had over the years, and planning extravagant Halloween parties. Darin variously appeared as Morticia Adams, Elvis Pressley, gangster Al Postpone and Captain Morgan while guests tried to find the hidden prizes.  Darin also super enjoyed travelling.  We had planned on retiring in part to Mexico because we enjoyed the warm cultural outlook on things there. To paraphrase Scottish poet Robert Burns such are the plans “of mice and men” ….   We also took the trip of a lifetime to Egypt with our daughter Shari and had great adventures there. The train rides were memorable to say least! When something happened, our phrase was “at least it isn’t like the rain ride from Cairo to Luxor”.   Then we would all laugh. The train goings on were sitcom worthy. We also took a felucca ride down the Nile to Banana Island and enjoyed the wonderful sunset. We also toured the pyramids, many temples, and the Valley of the Kings. To say it was a life changing trip is an understatement.

But now our lives are changed for the worst and forever. Darin died a premature death in spite of the valiant efforts of two Charlotte County paramedics, the Charlotte County Hospital ER team, and the ICU team at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Darin never recovered from the death of his beloved Shari. The family deeply encourages anyone enduring either trauma or PTSD and perhaps self medicating to dull the pain to get some professional help. There is no shame in getting help, and you just might give your loved ones the extra 30 years that we wanted to have with Darin.  If it doesn’t work out the first time, please keep trying. Your loved ones are counting on you.

He is also survived by siblings Diane Townsend (George Monroe), Debbie Townsend, David Townsend Jr. (Marjorie), and Daffy Boles (Larry Seabrooke) as well as nieces Mary Boles and Dawn Boles, Melissa Payne (Dale Stewart), Jodi Seabroke (Cassidy Rose Brown) and nephews George Townsend, David Townsend (Kelsey) Joey Seabrooke (Ashley Sherwood). In addition, Darin is survived by several great nieces and a great nephew. 

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB, (506-634-7424). A Memorial Service will held from the Trinity Church in St. Stephen, with the Rev. Kevin Borthwick officiating on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 11:00 AM. With a reception to follow in the Church Hall where guests are able to tell funny stories of Darin. All are welcome. If you feel able, donations may be made to Darin’s Living Memorial at https://gofund.me/40734049 or the charity of your choice.