Ralph Edward Townley ’66

The class recently learned that Ed died in December 2020 from respiratory failure due to COVID-19.

A native Pennsylvanian, Ed entered Princeton with our class but did not graduate. His roommates included Seth Braunstein, Larry Lindsey, and Ron Peters. He was a member of Campus Club and roomed there with Tim Barrows and Norm Tabler over the summer of 1966.

Ed had a great interest in theater and was active in Theater Intime. Once in the late 1960s, when he and a classmate attended a performance of Man of LaMancha starring Jose Ferrer ’33, a note from Ed invoking the Princeton connection secured a backstage pass and lengthy conversation with the star.

In 1991, Ed was ordained as a unity minister. He served Unity ministries in Beaverton, Ore., Dallas, Hartford, Conn., and Northborough, Mass. He was the author of Kingdom Come: A Guide to the Book of Revelation and The Secret According to Jesus, a guide to the Sermon on the Mount.

The class extends its condolences to Ed’s family.