Bainbridge resident Jean W. Townsend, age 85, died Oct. 7 at Messenger House Care Center.

She was born Aug. 12, 1917 in Seattle to Warren and Constance (James) Blanning.

She grew up in North Seattle and attended the Mary Ann Wells School of Dance, where she refined her talents in ballet and tap.

This led to professional work in her late teens and early twenties. She appeared with the Fanchon and Marko Review in Hollywood, and later in many Seattle-area nightclubs of the day.

She met her future husband, Charles Townsend, while working at the Bank of California. They married in 1938 and lived in Seattle until he enlisted in the Army to serve in World War II.

The couple moved to Rockaway Beach in 1957.

She was a member of the Bainbridge Island Garden Club and enjoyed growing flowers.

One brother, James Blanning of Kenai, Alaska, survives her. She will be inurned in Seattle next to her husband, Charles, who died in 1999.

Arrangements were under the direction of Kass Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island.