Charles Townsdin ’63

He’s been loyal to many people and organizations throughout his life, from his law practice to the Tucson community, and of course, the fraternity he pledged in 1961.

Brother Charles Townsdin credits his loyalty to his experiences as a member of the Upsilon Alpha Chapter of FIJI.

Brother Townsdin has also been loyal to golf, from being a University of Arizona Golf Team letterman for three years, to the president of one of Tucson’s oldest country clubs for three years.

And who can’t just have fun when playing some other sports on the side? Brother Townsdin did. He was very active in the U of A’s intramural program and was also involved with other groups on campus.

Brother Townsdin was also a member of the Tucson Conquistadors, the group responsible for making the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s stop in Tucson as big as it is today. They did that by luring large sponsors to the event since the mid 1980’s, eventually making it one of the largest stops on the tour. No doubt, this dedication to one cause can only be learned through life as a FIJI, right?

The work of Brother Townsdin and the Conquistadors didn’t stop there. They’ve also been known to sponsor several U of A sports teams. This is the same group that has kept the Tucson Open alive since the 1960’s, too.

Brother Townsdin is also a committee member and board member of Tucson’s elite Mountain Oyster Club, one of the oldest social organizations in Tucson.

Brother Towndsin started his involvement with the Upsilon Alpha three years before he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1963. He went on to attend law school at the U of A. And what a better place to go into real estate law than in Tucson, a land where property values seemed to have grown leaps and bounds since the advent of today’s expansion into the Sonoran desert.

Brother Townsdin, however, was modest in his description of how he spent his 20 years after attending the U of A. Simply put; he was an attorney for several firms until he started his own.

Brother Townsdin and wife Sandra are the proud parents of two children: Michael, 26; and Kelly, 29. And the legacy lives on in the family, too. His cousin, Bill Sharidan, is also a FIJI, from the University of Missouri.

Explaining what Upsilon Alpha means to him couldn’t sum up Brother Townsdin’s commitment to excellence any better. He said he owes his chapter for reaching a level of maturity during his undergraduate years that he wouldn’t have attained otherwise. All this to be thankful along with the sense of loyalty and commitment to a purposeful path in life as well as such a broad group of friends.

Without his experience, during what he described as a very fragile time in life, he wouldn’t have grown to the devoted member of society that he is today. And it continues, thanks to the help of his brothers.