THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 7, 1995 TAG: 9501070196
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Michael Townsend never had money or influence. At times, he didn't even have a place to live.
But he had soul, dignity, good humor and a peaceful nature that crossed racial barriers. And he had many, many friends.
So when his friends learned that Townsend, better known in the construction trade as ``Black Mike,'' had died Monday from pneumonia and complications of diabetes, there wasn't a dry eye around, said Bobby Hurley, a contractor who employed him for 12 years and gave him the nickname.
``He had a heart of gold,'' Hurley said. ``He just grew on you, became a part of you. Whenever anybody needed a hand, he was right there. He would do anything for anybody who needed help.''
Then his friends found out that Townsend, 34, had no insurance when he died and that his family had little money. So they stepped in to help, vowing that the peaceful, gentle man they had known and loved would have a decent funeral.
Word spread throughout northern Suffolk. Collection jars appeared on counter tops at convenience stores and gas stations.
Townsend's friends, Hurley said, want him to have a proper send-off.
By early Friday, just three days after his death, they had raised about $1,300 toward an expected cost of more than $3,000.
``Everybody should know a person like Mike at least once in their life,'' Hurley said. ``We want a regular funeral for him. It would be a shame for his family to have this burden while they're mourning him.''
Townsend, a small man with an athletic build until the ravages of disease struck hard about two years ago, grew up in Chuckatuck. He attended Western Branch High School, where he was on the wrestling team.
He worked in construction for most of his life.
Hurley and Townsend formed a fast friendship when the Suffolk contractor hired the man called ``Black Mike'' about 12 years ago.
``The name wasn't racial or anything,'' Hurley said, smiling. ``I had two Mikes working for me. One was white. One was black. He became `Black Mike,' and that's how everybody knew him.''
Lester Combs said that was fine with his brother-in-law, a man he said never saw color. Townsend, he said, simply saw people. And wherever he saw people in need, he was ready to help.
``I don't believe Mike ever said `no' to anybody,'' Combs said. ``If Mike said he didn't like somebody, you knew it was something wrong with that person.''
Townsend's reputation for a ready smile and gentle nature spread throughout the construction industry in Hampton Roads, said Mark Robertson, a lawn service contractor in Chesapeake.
``He was just a decent guy,'' Robertson said. ``You don't find many of those these days. You could trust him with anything. He baby-sat my kids. He helped me paint my grandmother's house just because it needed to be done. And he was always smiling.''
James Robertson, a retired insurance executive who lives in Chuckatuck, recalled when Townsend helped paint his house.
``He was always laughing, joking,'' he said. ``He liked to party a little, I think, but he was such a likable person. He never knew any color. Everybody liked Mike. I'm sure he never had much in his life, but he had friends.''
When diabetes finally started bringing Townsend down, Hurley said, it brought him down fast. Over the past two years, Townsend had heart bypass surgery, had his gallbladder removed, and lost and regained his eyesight twice. In the last months of his life, he used a walker to get around.
But he never lost his spirit.
``We never heard a complaint,'' Hurley said. ``It was no big deal to him. He went through so much.''
Townsend was married, but he had been separated from his wife for several years. He had one child, an 8-year-old daughter. He spent the last few days of his life with his sister and brother-in-law. Combs said that while he watched football games on New Year's Day, Townsend talked on the telephone with friends.
Just a couple of nights before, he had visited Hurley.
``I was hunting Monday,'' Hurley said. ``My brother came and got me out of the woods. He told me Mike was dying.''
Hurley said he rushed to the hospital and was one of the last to see his friend alive.
``He opened his eyes and looked at me,'' Hurley said. ``I think he knew I was there. If everybody was like Mike, this would be a much better world.''
Townsend will be buried today in Suffolk. His friends have established a fund for his funeral expenses. Donations can be mailed to Mike Townsend Fund, P.O. Box 5037, Suffolk, Va. 23435.
If anything remains of the fund after the funeral expenses, Hurley said, he hopes that a trust fund can be established for Townsend's daughter.
``I know if it was me, and Mike was physically able, he would see to it that my kids had what they needed,'' he said. ``He was my best friend.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
"Everybody should know a person like Mike at least once in their
life."
-Bobby Hurley, a contractor who employed Michael Townsend.
by CNB