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- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Mountain Press, 15 Oct 2000.
SEVIERVILLE - Former Sevier County Sheriff Carmen L. Townsend has paid his dues.
When local Fraternal Order of Police President Bob McCarter explained to Townsend the benefits of his status as a lifetime FOP member Thursday night and told Townsend he no longer had to pay FOP dues, it made Townsend happy.
"Well, that's the good part, isn't it?" Townsend remarked.
A packed house of local officers, friends and family gathered to honor the man who served as sheriff for 18 years and rarely took a day off.
"I took my job real seriously," said Townsend, who was sheriff from 1972 to 1990. "I enjoyed the job."
If there were murder cases pending, Townsend said he'd stay out looking until the suspect(s) were jailed.
"He's a legend," said McCarter.
"He was probably one of the best interviewers I've ever known in law enforcement," said Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin. "If he had to prosecute a case, most of the time he had a confession."
Asked how he got the truth out of suspects, Townsend said, "Everybody's got a soft spot.
"I guess the Lord helped me a little bit with that," he added. "Usually you let a person know that you do have something on them and if you can connect it with a soft spot - not that I was trying to play a trick on them."
Townsend, who spent 30 years as a lawman, said his plan once backfired when he tried to use a suspect's mother as a soft spot.
"He said he didn't care about his mother," said Townsend.
The biggest crime he ever worked?
"The Kodak bank robbery was the biggest thing that happened, and the fact that we put all that together," he said.
Four victims were shot at close range during that robbery.
Townsend told the audience he never took a vacation during his tenure as sheriff.
"I felt like the people came first," he said.
"He solved every murder committed under his administration," said Sevierville attorney Chuck Edwards, who worked with Townsend when Edwards served as a judge. "I think that speaks pretty darn well of him."
Edwards said among other accomplishments, Townsend got deputies uniforms, developed a records department, set up a radio system and patrol zones.
"He's responsible for bringing law enforcement into the 20th century, where it is today," said current Sevier County Sheriff Bruce Montgomery. "People who worked under him must have had love in their hearts, because they sure didn't do it for money."
Montgomery joked about making an unsuccessful run against Townsend for sheriff before Townsend took office. Both lost in the first election.
"When history is written about law enforcement in Sevier County, Carmen's name will be right at the top," said Montgomery.
Penny Bandy can be reached at pbandy@themountainpress.com.
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 26 Aug 2004.
Carman L. Townsend, who was Sevier County sheriff for nearly two decades, has died. He was 77.
Mr. Townsend died about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee. The cause of death was not released.
Dubbed the singing sheriff because of his fondness for playing the guitar and singing, Mr. Townsend was sheriff from 1972-90.
He and his family lived at the facility, which was built in 1953, a not uncommon practice. By the mid-1980s, however, he was one of only nine East Tennessee sheriffs continuing to reside in the jail.
Townsend's wife, Betty, worked as a jail matron and supervised the kitchen.
In a 1984 interview with the News Sentinel, Townsend said it was beneficial for taxpayers to have him live close to his work.
"I'm always right here if there's any trouble," he said. "If the deputies need to get me in a hurry, all they have to do is holler on the intercom."
Townsend lost his seat in 1990 to Don C. Ogle. He left office on Sept. 1 of that year.
He had applied for a private investigator's license and was writing music for publication.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.
Townsend, former Sevier sherrif, dies
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 25 Aug 2004.
Carman L. Townsend
October 06, 1926 - August 25, 2004
Birthplace: Sevier County, TN
Resided In: Sevierville Tennessee USA
Visitation: August 28, 2004
Service: August 29, 2004
Cemetery: Caton's Chapel Cemetery
Carman L. Townsend, age 77 of Sevierville, died August 25, 2004 at the Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee. He served faithfully as Sevier County Sheriff for 18 years.
He was preceded in death by parents Joe and Dona Townsend; companion Betty Townsend; grandson, Travis Houser, and brothers Clyde and Conley Townsend.
Survivors:
Daughter: Denise Townsend
Daughter and Son-in-law: Marlene and Stephen Houser
Grandchildren: Stephen Houser II, Tasha Franklin and her father, Steve Franklin
Sister: Bertha Qualls
Brother: Kenneth Townsend
Funeral service 2 PM Sunday in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home with Rev. Donnie Jester and Rev. Curtis Manning officiating. Interment will follow in Caton’s Chapel Cemetery with Rev. Ken Dyer officiating. The family will receive friends 6-9 PM Saturday at Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Harvest Food Pantry, 2505 Washington Pike, Knoxville, TN, 37917 or Gatlinburg Community Church of God Food Pantry, 3420 Byrd’s Creek Road, Sevierville, TN, 37876. (www.atchleyfuneralhome.com)
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 28 Aug 2004.
SEVIER COUNTY - Carman Townsend's physician, Dr. Richard Lee, made one final note on his medical records after his passing Wednesday night: "Sheriff Townsend served humanity well."
His family, friends and former colleagues say that is a fitting epitaph for the man who owns a part of Sevier County history as the county's longest-serving sheriff.
Townsend, who served as sheriff from 1972 until 1990, died Wednesday after a struggle with leukemia at age 77.
His death now makes him and his service a part of the county's heritage, and this unique gentleman is being recalled with respect and admiration.
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters called Townsend's passing "a tremendous loss for the county."
"He cared about the people of Sevier County and worked hard to protect them," Waters said.
It was that service in which Townsend took the most pride.
"For 18 years, he gave his entire life to this county," recalled his daughter, Marlene Houser.
His long years in that office eventually led people to stop calling him by name.
"I think everybody just called him 'Sheriff,'" Houser said.
Upon entering the office, Townsend did not have much to work with.
Current Deputy Chief Ron Seals was hired by Townsend as a dispatcher in 1973 and rose through the ranks to his current position during Townsend's tenure.
"He began the process of bringing the department out of the dark ages," Seals recalled.
Former Deputy Chief Harry Montgomery remembered those times of transition.
"We made a lot of changes when he took office in 1972," Montgomery said. "He implemented the records system and zone patrols."
Seals, Montgomery and current Sheriff Bruce Montgomery all agreed that his investigative and interrogation skills were amazing.
"He could make someone confess to anything," Sheriff Montgomery recalled. "He didn't just talk to you about the offense, he talked to you about your soul. He was an excellent investigator. He had a sense about finding out what was going on."
The sheriff also recalled the role Townsend's late wife, Betty, played in the operation of the jail.
A 1983 news article called her the "chief cook and bottle washer at Sevier County Jail."
"She made sure everything was right in that (jail) kitchen," Montgomery said. "They were a team."
The Townsend family lived at the jail - the final sheriff's family to do so - and Houser recalled the popularity of her mother's cooking.
"During Thanksgiving, she would make turkey and dressing," Houser said. "I think some wanted to be in jail just to get that meal."
Former colleagues recalled Townsend's 24-hour, seven-days-a-week dedication to the job.
"I can't remember him taking vacation during the 18 years he was in office," Seals said.
Sheriff Townsend's other daughter, Denise Townsend, said that is probably true.
"Especially if there was a high profile case, he literally would not go to bed until that case was solved," Townsend said.
Sheriff Montgomery said Townsend was an honest man whose integrity could not be questioned.
"I was working with federal agents in the early 1980s when so many county sheriffs were being arrested," Montgomery said. "There was never, never any question about Carman and his integrity."
The former sheriff was also an ordained minister, and his daughters say he "won a lot of people to the Lord."
This "good Christian man," as Sheriff Montgomery described him, was also a generous and compassionate person.
"People would come in and ask to borrow $10, and he would lend it to them knowing he wouldn't get it back," Seals remembered. "He probably gave half of his money away."
"He felt like his job was a part of his ministry, and God put him there," Denise Townsend said. "He cared so much about people."
A love of playing and writing music led to him earning a second title as "The Singing Sheriff."
"He would sing bluegrass and gospel," Houser said.
There were times when the radio scanners would pick up a call for "Dad-aw." That was a sign Townsend was getting a signal from a grandchild.
"It sort of became a tradition," his granddaughter Tasha Franklin said. "I used to think I was talking to the whole county, but it was just to 'Dad-aw.'"
Denise said that, despite her father's dedication to his job, he was always there for the family.
"He was always there when you needed him," Denise said. "He always put you before himself."
Services for Townsend are scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home in Sevierville with interment following in Caton's Chapel Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 until 9 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Former sheriff dies County remembers 'good Christian man'
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 31 Aug 2004.
CATON'S CHAPEL - Family, friends and fellow police officers gathered on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon as former Sevier County Sheriff Carman Townsend was laid to rest at Caton's Chapel Cemetery.
Townsend, 77, died Wednesday at Baptist Hospital of East Tennessee after complications with leukemia.
Police officers led a long funeral precession after funeral services were held in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home, officiated by the Rev. Donnie Jester and the Rev. Curtis Manning. As the parties arrived, a long line of police officers stood in front of the burial site before the burial service was to begin.
"Every day he put on a badge, he made himself a target," said the Rev. Ken Dyer, who officiated the ceremony. "Everything he did touched the surrounding counties.
"Carman moved from one house to another," Dyer continued, meaning Townsend was in a better place.
As the service concluded, members of Townsend's family released several doves in the air, symbolizing peace.
Townsend served as Sevier County sheriff from 1972 to 1990, making him the county's longest-serving sheriff. He was also an ordained minister and loved playing and writing music, leading to having the title of "The Singing Sheriff."
"The service was very fitting," said Sheriff Bruce Montgomery after the ceremony. He, along with his brother Harry, a former deputy chief, were longtime family friends of Townsend. "This is a celebration of his and his family's life until now. He left a good legacy.
"Harry and I were proud to call him our friend," Montgomery continued. "He was a friend of the family for many years. We will miss him."
jkindred@themountainpress.com
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