[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 183 (Monday, November 6, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DORIS ``DEB'' BIESTERFELD TOWNSHEND

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                            of connecticcut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 6, 2023

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today, family, friends, and community 
leaders will gather to


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  On November 6, 2023, page E1061, in the second column, the 
following appeared: Mr. DELAURO. Mr. Speaker, today, family, 
friends, and community leaders will gather to
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Ms. DELAURO. Mr. 
Speaker, today, family, friends, and community leaders will gather 
to


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   remember one of the City of New Haven's greatest treasures, Doris 
``Deb'' Biesterfeld Townshend, who we lost in September of 2020. At the 
   age of 98, she had lived a full life and passed peacefully at her 
   cherished, historic Victorian home, known as Raynham, on Townsend 
  Avenue.The Townshend's family line in New Haven stretches back to 
1739, when Jeremiah Townsend of Boston, first settled there. Deb met 
her husband, Henry ``Harry'' Townshend, while still a student at Mount 
Holyoke College. In fact, they met on the train--an inspiring meet 
cute, especially for train lovers like me. Harry and Deb married in 
1942 and became the fifth generation of the Townshend family to live in 
New Haven. Deb loved to tell the story of their homestead, Raynham, 
which had been in the family since 1798 which it was first established 
as a farm. The home was used as a summer home by the Townshend family 
until Deb and Harry made it their year-round, permanent residence. It 
was there that they raised their five children and celebrated seventy 
wonderful years together before Harry passed away in 2012.
  Deb loved the Elm City and dedicated a lifetime to ensuring its 
history was both preserved and celebrated. She was not only a member of 
one of New Haven's longest tenured families, but she was also a 
historian, and it was her love of history and her strong belief in 
community that inspired her to work on a litany of local restoration 
projects and her service as a member of a myriad of boards, committees, 
and service organizations. She was a Past President of Fort Nathan Hale 
Restoration Projects and the East Haven Historical Society; a Past Vice 
President and Honorary Member of the New Haven Preservation Trust, as 
well as the Chair of New Haven's Historic District Commission for 
fifteen years and the Historian of the First Church of Christ for 
twenty-two years--just to name a few. Deb also volunteered her time at 
the New Haven Historical Society and served as a docent at the Peabody 
Museum of Natural History.
  Deb was a force of nature, much like my own mother, Luisa DeLauro. 
They may have come from different sides of the political aisle, but 
they understood the importance of protecting the community and its New 
Haven's history. Deb played a critical role in my parent's effort to 
designate Wooster Square as New Haven's first historic district and she 
went on to play a key role in supporting historic sites across the 
City--including Fort Nathan Hale, the Federal Period King's Block in 
Fair Haven and ensuring the Townshend's ancestral home was placed on 
the National Historic Registry.
  In her obituary, her children recounted a story from Deb's childhood. 
When she was young girl, Deb was asked what she wanted to be when she 
grew up and her reply was just one word: ``Kind'' It was a goal well 
met. Deb was not just kind; she was a reflection of the very best of 
us.
  She loved her family fiercely and cared deeply for the communities 
she called home--both New Haven and the Madison Valley of Montana. She 
was an extraordinary woman who leaves a legacy of service to which we 
should all strive.
  I am deeply honored to have this opportunity to stand today to pay 
tribute to Doris ``Deb'' Biesterfeld Townshend. While I extend my 
deepest sympathies to her five children, Sharon, Cynthia, Hervey, 
Nancy, and Timothy and their spouses, as well as her ten grandchildren 
and seventeen great-grandchildren; I also extend my heartfelt thanks to 
the Townshend family for so graciously sharing Deb with us all. Like 
for so many others, her energy, enthusiasm and dedication were an 
inspiration for me, and her memory will continue to inspire for years 
to come.

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