JoAnn Clayton Townsend
JoAnn Clayton Townsend (1935-2020), Space Policy Online
“JoAnn Clayton Townsend, former director of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) at the National Academies and an AIAA Fellow, passed away last night from congestive heart failure. She had just turned 85. A native of Tulsa, OK, JoAnn traveled the world with her husband, John Clayton, a journalist with the U.S. Information Service, until his untimely death when their two children were still quite young.”
One more passing of a good friend and colleague — as if 2020 hadn’t already been bad enough. I haven’t seen her for quite a while, but working behind the scenes through many ASEB review panels JoAnn Clayton Townsend was responsible for influencing the US space program in positive directions over many years. I extend sincere sympathies to her family and other friends.